Company pays 400,000 kroner fine for misleading product guides

Obsidian Media ApS has accepted and paid a 400,000 kroner fine for misleading marketing on websites that appeared to offer independent product tests, DR reports. The Danish Consumer Ombudsman said the company had not tested or reviewed the products itself, but earned money through advertising links.

The websites included forbrugsguiden.dk, forbruger-test.dk and bedste10.dk, as well as senge-testeren.dk, later renamed sengeguiden.dk, and bomagasinet.dk. The company’s business model involved affiliate agreements under which other businesses paid it to direct consumers to their websites.

The sites used phrases such as “advantages and disadvantages of the product” and “our assessment”, the Ombudsman said. Obsidian Media told the regulator that its assessments were based on external tests, product reviews and specifications. Consumer Ombudsman Torben Jensen called the conduct a “serious breach” of the marketing law. The company admitted violating the ban on misleading marketing and hidden advertising.