SW welcomes self-regulation for credit advertising
In its draft bill, the Wak-N proposes that the consumer credit industry should combat aggressive advertising in a convention under private law. SW Schweizer Werbung fully supports this regulation.
On September 30, the consultation period for the draft of the National Council's Economic Committee (Wak-N) regarding the revision of the Federal Consumer Credit Act (KKG) expired (Werbewoche.ch reported). In its statement, SW Schweizer Werbung welcomes the Wak-N's proposal to give the consumer credit industry the opportunity to define the criteria for aggressive advertising in a convention under private law and to prevent violations of these criteria. According to the association, the Swiss Commission for Fair Trading has proven since 1966 that such a solution serves consumers as well as the industry and relieves the courts in the long term. The Federal Council had already confirmed this in 2006 in its response to the Stump motion: "Where self-regulation and self-regulation [...] have proven their worth, it is not appropriate to take legislative action."
The umbrella organization for commercial communication therefore firmly rejects the ban on advertising originally called for. It is not only unconstitutional, but also misses the actual goal of reducing youth debt. In general, SW Schweizer considers advertising bans to be an unsuitable means of solving social problems. On the contrary, they prevent transparency in the market and therefore harm consumers.
As the next step in the parliamentary process, the Wak-N consolidates its draft and submits it to the National Council. The WAK-S and the Council of States will then examine the bill. Even if no further clarifications are required and no major differences need to be resolved between the two Councils, the final vote is unlikely to take place before the 2014 fall or winter session.
