The territory Court in Warsaw maintained the decision of the president of the National Broadcasting Council to impose a fine of PLN 35 1000 on the Polish tv S.A. in liquidation for violation of provisions concerning the issue of beer advertising. The case afraid advertising aired in TVP Sport, during the period covered by the statutory ban.
– The National Broadcasting Council has consistently held that the rules on the issue of commercial communications, including beer advertising, must be strictly respected and their aim is to defend consumers, in peculiar minors – stressed Dr Agnieszka Glapiak, president of the KRRiT.
Issue of advertising during the prohibited period
The proceedings afraid the issue of beer advertising on 28 August 2024 in the TVP athletics programme, immediately after 6:00 p.m., i.e. at the time of the statutory ban. The transmission was aired in an advertising block after sports broadcast. This constituted a violation of the Broadcasting and Broadcasting Act in connection with the Law on Sobriety Education and Against Alcoholism.
Under current legal regulations, beer advertising, as an exception to the general prohibition on the promotion of alcoholic beverages, can be distributed under strict conditions, including hours from 6:00 to 8:00. As indicated in the decision of the court, the specified dissemination of the transmission at the time of the restrictions constitutes an infringement, regardless of its nature or the circumstances of the issue.
Legal assessment of the court
The territory Court in Warsaw dismissed the cancellation of the Polish tv S.A. in liquidation, maintaining the decision of the president of the KRRiT. The justification indicates that the work for violating the provisions of the Broadcasting Act is objective. This means that it does not substance to impose a punishment whether the infringement has been committed or whether it was of an incidental nature.
The Court of First Instance besides stressed that the actual number of recipients is not applicable for the assessment of the infringement, but the fact that beer advertising is issued during the statutory restrictions and the resulting possible vulnerability of consumers, in peculiar minors, to contact with content not intended for them. The accuracy of the assessment of the nature of the infringement adopted by the NRA and the appropriateness of the imposition of the punishment were thus confirmed.
The Court besides referred to the consignor’s argument on the method nature of the infringement, indicating that the circumstances relating to the organisation of the emissions, including systemic errors or programme transfers, do not exclude the liability of the consignor for complying with the applicable rules.
Effectiveness of KRRIT actions
The judgement is another confirmation of the correctness of the National Broadcasting Council's enforcement activities. In fresh years, the courts have confirmed the legitimacy of the decision of the president of the NRA, inter alia, in cases concerning breaches of product placement rules and the issue of commercial transfers in breach of the existing rules.
The source. National Broadcasting Council
photo. TVP
