CONSUMER PROTECTION IN ADVERTISING
By: Magna Carta Law Office
The Consumer Protection Act of Thailand provides the consumer rights as follows:
- The right to receive correct and sufficient information about the quality of goods and services.
- The right to enjoy freedom in the choice of goods or services without any unfair persuasion.
- The goods or services must be in a good condition and quality with the appropriate standard so that there is no harm to the life, body or property of consumers when used according to the instructions and according to the condition of the goods and services.
- The right to receive a fair contract from a business entity.
- The consumer has the right to call for compensation from a business entity if the consumer suffers damage caused by the business entity.
An advertisement of goods and services must not contain unfair statements and it shall not be affected by a method, which may be harmful to health, or cause physical or mental harm or annoyance to consumers. The following statements shall be regarded as violations of this Act:
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- A statement that is false or exaggerated, or will cause misunderstanding about the goods or services.
- A statement that is directly or indirectly encouraging the commission of an unlawful or immoral act, or which adversely affects the national culture.
- A statement which will cause disunity or adversely affects the unity among the public.
- Other statements as prescribed by the Ministerial Regulation as follows:
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- Advertising of goods or services about a sale and promotion by giving free products or privileges, gambling or competing for prize rewards must contain clear statements, such as regulations, conditions, methods, starting and ending dates, detail and value of free products, and any place where consumers receive the free products.
- Advertising a blessing by members of the Royal Family and using information about the Monarch must not include details of goods or services in the advertisement. Trademarks or other details, such as address, website, email, address, telephone numbers, are not allowed. Only the name of the company or the composer is allowed.
- Advertising of land, house and condominium must contain the starting and finishing dates of construction, registered number of land certificates, total area of land, license number of land allocation, name of person who allocates the land, name of land business entity, and the time of transferring ownership when the payment has been made according to the conditions of the contract. A statement must indicate whether any image used in the advertisement is real, or is imitated from the original.
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In the case where the Committee on Advertisement has a reasonable cause to suspect that any statement used in an advertisement is false or exaggerated, the Committee on Advertisement shall have the power to issue an order requiring the advertiser to substantiate the claim.
Any Businessman who is doubtful whether his advertisement will violate or does not conform to this Act may apply to the Committee on advertisement for consideration and opinion on such matter before advertising.
