Federal Council takes action against unfair competition

 The Federal Council wants to strengthen protection against deceptive offers such as address book scams and pyramid schemes. To this end, the tightening of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UCA) is to be drafted by the end of September. In addition to stricter material provisions on certain dubious business practices, the revision calls in particular for greater price transparency, an extended right of action for the Confederation and the legal basis for cooperation with foreign authorities, but above all the Federal Council wants to take aim at the rampant address book fraud. It stipulates that in future, the fact that an offer is subject to a charge, the duration, the total price and the form and distribution of the publication must be indicated in a clearly visible place and in understandable language. The sending of invoices for a register entry should be prohibited unless an order has been issued in advance. This is in line with the case law of the Federal Supreme Court and the Code of Ethics of the Swiss Directory Publishers Association.
The ban on distribution systems based on the snowball, avalanche or pyramid principle, which is already contained in the Unfair Competition Act, will be enshrined in the UWG. At the same time, demarcation criteria will make it possible to differentiate between legal multi-level marketing systems. Anyone who promises the delivery of goods, the payment of bonuses or other services on terms that will give the other party an advantage if other people are recruited is acting unfairly. One of the criteria is that the number of participants can increase rapidly and uncontrollably.