Misleading and Comparative Advertising: Risks for Consumers and Ways to Protect Their Rights
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” has published a note explaining how Moldovan legislation protects consumers from misleading and comparative advertising. Produced under the national consumer information campaign “Consumer rights are my rights!”, it helps people obtain truthful information about products and services, make informed decisions and protect themselves.
Under Law 62/2022 on advertising, advertising is misleading if it can deceive consumers or harm a competitor, for instance through false claims about a product's characteristics, price, the advertiser or contest rules. Commercial advertising not clearly labelled as such, or using state symbols without authorisation, is also misleading. Comparative advertising is allowed if it is objective, compares goods with the same purpose, and does not denigrate, confuse or unfairly exploit a competitor. Unsupported claims such as “the best” are treated as misleading.
Medicines are covered by Law 153/2025: advertising non-medicines as treating or preventing disease, or advertising unauthorised medicines, is banned, and ads must include the medicine's name and urge reading the leaflet. Advertising of financial, insurance and investment services may not promise income, guarantee dividends or promise future profitability, because every investment carries risk. The project is funded by the European Union and Soros Foundation Moldova.
Recent publications from Consumer protection
See all
Protecting consumers’ collective interests: how to defend your rights when a problem affects many consumers
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): How to Settle a Dispute with a Trader Without Going to Court
How social engineering fraud works and how to protect ourselves from it (phishing, vishing, smishing, spoofing, etc.)
