SW: Self-regulation yes, general ban no
The Federal Council wants to ban aggressive advertising for small loans, but is leaving the definition up to the industry. SW Schweizer Werbung supports the proposal but opposes general bans on consumer credit advertising targeting young people.
In its statement on the revision of the Consumer Credit Act (KKG) at the beginning of April, the Federal Council spoke out in favor of a ban on aggressive advertising for small loans (Werbewoche.ch reported). However, he leaves it up to the industry to define what this means in concrete terms. SW Schweizer Werbung welcomes the decision in favor of self-regulation. However, the umbrella organization for commercial communication does not agree that consumer credit advertising to teenagers and young adults should be generally prohibited.
SW Schweizer Werbung understands the problems associated with young adults getting into debt, the umbrella organization said in a statement. However, a ban on advertising for consumer or small loans is not considered to be effective in any way. On the other hand, the association welcomes the fact that, according to the Federal Council's latest decision, the financial sector is to be given the authority to define for itself, within the framework of a convention under private law - with the Swiss Fair Trading Commission as the arbitration tribunal - which advertising should be considered aggressive and which should not. However, SW Schweizer Werbung considered the Federal Council's intention to generally classify advertising that specifically appeals to teenagers and young adults as aggressive and therefore ban it to be too far-reaching. All the more so as the Association of Swiss Credit Banks and Financial Institutions (VSKF) states in its draft for self-regulation that it is precisely this target group that should not be addressed by advertising. SW Schweizer Werbung supported the VSKF in formulating the draft and clearly supports the position formulated therein.
Self-regulation: faster and more cost-effective
Self-regulation makes all the more sense as experience has shown that out-of-court settlements are faster, more efficient and cheaper than any criminal or civil proceedings. Penal provisions in other areas, such as those for disregarding the star rating, have shown that laws can be ineffective and, on the contrary, exacerbate the problem. A ban also makes little sense, as the Federal Council has left open the option of defining what constitutes aggressive advertising on its own initiative should self-regulation fail.
Advertising bans do not solve social problems
In its statement, SW Schweizer Werbung mentions that even Pro Juventute considers an advertising ban to be the wrong approach. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts study "Achtung, fertig, Schulden" shows that preventative measures have the greatest effect. These include, first and foremost, addressing values and norms in the family and teaching financial skills at school. Pro Juventute commented on this in a media release on December 10, 2013: "A ban on advertising for small loans would miss the real problem," said Stephan Oetiker, Director of Pro Juventute: "Young people today are constantly exposed to consumption opportunities. A ban on advertising for small loans is at best a drop in the ocean."
Against this background, SW Schweizer Werbung is in favor of integral self-regulation within the framework of the KKG as proposed by the Economic Committee of the National Council. Apart from this, there is no reason to restrict advertising for products that can be legally purchased. According to the umbrella organization, advertising bans are usually justified on populist grounds and always contradict the constitutional right to economic freedom.
