French Consumer Law is a comprehensive and comparative overview of French and EU law in this field, covering: advertising, unfair commercial practices, conditions for the validity of contracts, unfair terms, product conformity, latent defects, product safety.

French Consumer Law

Online advertising has been growing since its beginnings in the late 1990s. The possibility of reaching a very wide public, without requiring several advertisements, and better targeting the potential buyers has naturally seduced advertisers who now tend to favor this medium over traditional media, such as the written press. Electronic advertising is of key economic importance not only for the adv …

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Online advertising has been growing since its beginnings in the late 1990s. The possibility of reaching a very wide public, without requiring several advertisements, and better targeting the potential buyers has naturally seduced advertisers who now tend to favor this medium over traditional media, such as the written press. Electronic advertising is of key economic importance not only for the advertiser but also for the site which is distributing the message or the seller of advertising space . In effect, advertising is the main source of revenue for some of them. This is particularly relevant for search engines such as Google, which even has developed its own online advertising service, AdWords, or video sharing sites such as Youtube, where “youtubers” are remunerated depending on the number of views thanks to ads placed on the site and on uploaded videos, or social networks such as Facebook.

Before it became inevitable, the question arose as to whether the internet could be considered as an advertising medium. The Court of Appeal in Rennes answered in the affirmative in a judgment given on 31 March 2000  holding that,"the essential criterion of being an advertising medium lies in the fact that it can convey a commercial message, regardless of its form". Therefore, “an internet site can constitute an advertising medium: it allows the communication to the public of texts and images, which may be presented to persons viewing the site, brands, goods and services and encourage the conclusion of contracts with potential consumers”.

In order to target consumers more effectively, online traders have put in place various strategies that are intended to increase the impact of advertising, in particular by the number of ads displayed and/or clicks. The “Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés” (CNIL), the French data protection authority , instituted by Law No 78-17 of 6 January 1978 , ensures that “information technology is at the service of every citizen” and that it “shall not violate human identity, human rights, privacy, or individual or public liberties . The supervisory authority has thus identified several types of online advertisement: "classic” personalized advertising, behavioral advertising and contextual advertising. These types of ads need to gather as much information as possible about users who are thus exposed to the exploitation of their personal data.

Article 23 of the Law of 1993 requires the seller of advertising space in its capacity as advertising medium or media sales company to inform directly the advertiser in the month following the diffusion of the advertising message, of  the conditions in which the services have been carried out. Decree No 2017-159 of 9 February 2017 on digital advertising services (OJ 36 of 11 Feb. 2017) extends this provision of the Sapin Law of 29 January 1993 on the prevention of corruption and transparency in economic life and public procedures, to online advertising. Article 2 of Decree No 2017-159 - which came into force on 1 January 2018 - provides in particular, except for digital advertising services based on  auctions (governed by Article 3), that the performance report communicated by the seller of advertising space to the advertiser must state the date and place where advertisements are placed, the overall price of the campaign as well as the unit price of advertising spaces invoiced. 

CA Rennes, LawLex200400000393JBJ. See also, TI Saint-Malo, 18 December. 2001, Fédération du logement de la consommation et de l'Environnement d'Ille-et-Vilaine v Sté AVS Conseil, referring to Cass. crim., 12 November 1986, which had found that any medium of information intended to allow a potential customer to form an opinion on the expected results of the good or service proposed, constitutes an advertisement.

Commission national de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) Notice of 5 February 2009 on targeted advertising online.

French Consumer Law

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