Fairness Commission records record number of complaints

The SLK is the self-regulatory body of the communications industry and monitors compliance with the rules for fair commercial communication.

With 221 complaints procedures in 2024, the SLK has reached a new high. A record of 124 proceedings had already been recorded in 2023, but the 200 mark has now been exceeded for the first time. A major factor in this increase was a controversial billboard advertisement by a brothel operator, against which around 100 complaints were received - 70 of them in a single day. The accusation was sexism. The complaints will be dealt with in the first half of 2025.

If this wave of submissions is deducted, the number of complaints procedures remains at the 2023 level. In the long term, the average is around 100 cases per year. The leisure, tourism, hotel and catering sector accounted for the most complaints in 2024 (12.3 %), followed by food and beverages and services and administration (10.9 % each). There was an increase in the areas of trade, industry and services, while mail order, food and home & garden declined.

In the media sector, a third of complaints (33.3 %) related to online advertising, followed by direct marketing (22.6 %) and out-of-home advertising (12.5 %). Social media and product labels were also the subject of proceedings. In terms of content, most complaints concerned misleading advertising, which accounted for 39.6 % of all cases. This also included complaints about greenwashing, i.e. questionable environmental promises. Sexism was the subject of 12.3 % of cases, while aggressive sales methods (21.6%) were on the decline.

More than half of the appeals submitted (52.8 %) were upheld, 34.7 % were rejected and the Boards were unable to hear 12.5 % of the cases. All appeals were rejected. The SLK emphasizes that appeals are often filed with the aim of forcing a reconsideration, which is not the purpose of the procedure.

In addition, public and media interest in the work of the SLK is increasing. In 2024, over 50 media inquiries were received from all parts of the country. Questions about influencer marketing and the transparent labeling of commercial partnerships were particularly frequent. The use of artificial intelligence in advertising and greenwashing were also recurring topics. The SRF format "10 to 10", for example, was dedicated to the question of how AI is used and declared in advertising.

Individual exemplary decisions of the SLK are in the activity report to read.