Recognising advertising online

In short: Advertising on the internet is not always recognisable as such. Influencer posts, sponsored results and native ads must be labelled in Germany.

In more detail: Covert advertising is not permitted; competition law demands clear labelling.

In detail

• Labelling: “Ad”, “advertisement”, “paid partnership”.
• Search engines: The first hits are often paid ads.
• Influencers: Recommendations can be paid or linked with free products.
• Targeting: Ads are served on the basis of the user profile.
• Dark patterns: Artificial scarcity (“Only 2 left!”), countdown, preselected extra purchases.
• Fake reviews: Check conspicuously many raves (wettbewerbsrecht-uwg-und-fake-bewertungen-was-unlauter-ist).
• Ad blockers and settings: Limit tracking, choose cookies deliberately.
• Stay critical: Compare prices, read reviews in several sources (clickbait-und-schlagzeilen-durchschauen).