Consumer Ombudsman wants restrictions on newspaper advertising supplements

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The Consumer Ombudsman has petitioned the Market Court for a decision on whether or not the advertising supplements that come with Helsingin Sanomat should be distributed to households with "no advertising" stickers on their mail boxes.
      Mika Hakamäki, a lawyer working for the Finnish Consumer Agency, says that the agency wants a precedent on the issue.
      In the view of the Consumer Ombudsman, separate advertising supplements are the kind of direct advertising that consumers have a right to refuse.
     
The Consumer Agency says that it has received complaints from consumers who feel that their personal privacy and their choice to decline direct advertising are violated by the inclusion of supplements within Helsingin Sanomat.
      Hakamäki feels that the time is right to move forward on the issue. "More attention is being paid to the protection of personal privacy", he says.
     
Hannu Syrjänen, CEO of the SanomaWSOY concern, which publishes Helsingin Sanomat, is surprised by the move.
      "If the view of the Consumer Ombudsman is implemented, it will cause considerable problems for the publication of periodicals in Finland - both newspapers and magazines, which often include inserts."
      "As a product, a newspaper comprises many parts, of which inserts are an important element. It is a mass product, which is delivered to all subscribers in the same area in the same composition. No publishers have the technical or economic possibilities of changing the content according to the wishes of an individual subscriber", Syrjänen says.
     
In Syrjänen’s view, subscriptions to Helsingin Sanomat are private contracts between Sanoma Corporation and the subscriber, determined by the terms of the subscription. The terms of the subscription state that the newspaper comprises editorial content and advertising, and that the newspaper also includes advertising inserts. Therefore, the subscribers are aware of the terms.
      The Consumer Ombudsman feels that the content of the contract should be changed; under the present arrangement, a consumer has no possibility to refuse direct advertising, and the only way to avoid it is to refrain from subscribing to Helsingin Sanomat.
      The Consumer Ombudsman feels that the latter alternative is not a real option, because Helsingin Sanomat is the most important newspaper in Finland, which no other product can substitute.


Links:
  Consumer Agency press release: Sanoma Osakeyhtiö taken to the Market Court CONSUMERS WITH "NO ADVERTISING" STICKERS RECEIVE ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENTS IN HELSINGIN SANOMAT

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