28 mrt 2024 om 10:18 Update: 40 min. geleden
Discounts that are not discounts are still common, says regulator ACM. Combating it is therefore a spearhead. In addition, a lot of attention is being paid to stricter rules for digital platforms, although the watchdog is toothless for the time being due to a law that has not yet been approved.
This is what chairman Martijn Snoep of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) said on Thursday during the presentation of the report for 2023. Last year, stricter rules came into force to curb fake discounts.
This was necessary because many companies often pretend that you get a discount without actually having to pay less. An example of this is advertising a 30 percent discount, but using a base price for which the product was never in stores.
“Then you just get cheated,” says Snoep. Things often went wrong in the past, including in the clothing industry, electronics sellers and bed specialty stores.
‘Also in the interest of the retailer’
“It is also in the interest of the retailer that we do this. Because the well-intentioned entrepreneur suffers if his competitors do it.” Various investigations are currently underway, although the supervisory authority cannot say much about this at the moment.
ACM has not yet handed out fines. But that could change this year. “In the beginning you mainly sit around the table with retailers, explain what the rules are and how they should implement them. The next phase is that we warn. And then we really get nasty.”
ACM is currently between the last two phases, Snoep explains. According to him, entrepreneurs have had enough time to understand the new rules.
No fines for online platforms yet
New rules have also recently come into effect for digital platforms, the so-called Digital Service Act and Digital Market Act. For example, they prescribe that social media such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram must combat fraud and disinformation. This also applies to smaller companies such as bol and Marktplaats.
The ACM’s supervision is limited to companies established in our country. The only problem is that the watchdog can hardly intervene, because the House of Representatives still has to approve the law in question.
“We are toothless at the moment,” says Snoep. “We cannot impose fines on companies or force them to provide information. We had hoped otherwise.” It is unclear when the House of Representatives will approve the law.
Platforms can no longer hide
Nevertheless, the ACM chairman is delighted with the new rules. Once the supervisory authority has powers, it can address the online platforms if they do not do enough, for example, to combat scammers who are active there or people who knowingly distribute illegal content.
“In the past, companies could hide and say: this is not our responsibility. But thanks to the Digital Services Act, the platforms now have their own responsibility.”
Although the law has yet to be approved, ACM has already recruited plenty of staff. And that was relatively easy, says Snoep. Many young people in particular want to work for the regulator, for example those who have worked at a tech company for a few years and now want to work “on the other side”.
The focus is mainly on training staff and informing companies about how to apply the new rules. “But in the event of major mistakes, we will not hesitate to issue fines in the future.”
