Internet advertising labeling: what businesses and bloggers need to know

Entered into force on September 1, 2022 FEDERAL LAW NO. 347, which established new rules for advertising on the Internet: all information about it was obliged to be submitted to Roskomnadzor. At the same time, no liability was provided for non-compliance with the requirements at that time.

The rules appeared on paper, but in fact they were not applied for a long time: Roskomnadzor only in mid-October chose data operators, through which I was able to obtain information about real campaigns. Thus, businesses were given time to get used to the new requirements and understand the procedure in detail.

Only a year later, on September 1, 2023, he appeared FEDERAL LAW NO. 274, which established penalties for not labeling online ads. Depending on the nature of the violation, their amounts are:

• for individuals — from 30,000 to 100,000 rubles. ;
• for officials — from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles. ;
• for companies — from 200,000 to 500,000 rubles.

The new law has caused a lot of excitement among businesses that promote their products and services online and bloggers who make money from advertising. So we decided to understand the rules and tell you what ads should be labeled, how and when.

What kind of ads should be labeled

According to article 3, paragraph 1, of the Advertising Act, advertising is information that is distributed on the Internet and draws attention to a specific object, generates and maintains interest in it, and promotes it.

This concept is very broad, so there are ongoing discussions on the Internet about what data should be labeled. After analyzing advertising legislation and government regulations, we have compiled an approximate list of information to be labeled. The list includes the following types of advertising:

• contextual;
• targeted;
• media;
• native;
• Telegram Ads;
• real posts and videos on social media.

Under the new rules, self-promotion should also be labeled: that is, information that businesses publish about themselves. For example, a banner attached to a website that promotes a specific product.

Who should label ads and how

Information about who should label ads should be specified in the contract. For example, this could be:

• a company that provides advertising;
• a blogger who places ads;
• a real agency that establishes interaction between business and a real platform.

But it should be borne in mind that everyone is responsible for violations by law. After all, it is important not only to label ads, but also to place them correctly. If you do not follow the rules at least at one stage, you can get a fine.

To label ads, you must enter into an agreement with one or more data operators (RDA). Now in the Roskomnadzor register seven such organizations. Next, you need to create a personal account on the ORD website and pre-register there all the real creatives that you plan to post online. This applies to texts, pictures, videos and multimedia materials.

After that, the ORD will assign a special designation to the advertisement — the so-called token. The token is assigned in the erid: xxx format, where xxx is a set of numbers and Latin letters. This symbol, along with the “Advertisement” tag, must be placed on a real message (for example, a post or video). You should also specify the advertiser's details: this may be the TIN and the name of the individual entrepreneur or the name of the company. If the ad is placed on the site, the token must be added to the link (Order No. 191 of Roskomnadzor dated November 30, 2022).

Reporting

Advertising labeling is not the only responsibility of businesses and bloggers. They also need to submit reports.

At the end of each calendar month (regardless of how long the ad is active), you need to register ad impression statistics in your ORD personal account. You should also upload acts that prove that the advertiser has performed its promotion service. You should also note in your personal account how much money was spent on advertising.

When labeling is not needed

There are several cases when ad labeling is not necessary:

• If you advertise your own products in email newsletters and push notifications for your customer base.
• If TV and radio ads are published on the Internet unchanged.
• If you are announcing an event or sharing about products and services on your personal blog. However, such a message should not contain a call to buy, explains the FAS. — When information about goods and services is posted on the manufacturer's website without a call to buy. We must focus on Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 974 dated May 28, 2022.
• When the video does not focus on the product, including by describing its characteristics and properties.

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