Expert Guide to advertising regulations in Ukraine

• The Law of Ukraine “On Advertisement”
• The Law of Ukraine “On Protection against Unfair Competition”
• The Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Social Morality”
• The Election Code of Ukraine
• The Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the National Language”

The following state bodies oversee compliance with advertisement legislation:

• The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (the SSUFSCP) which is responsible for consumer protection;
• The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the AMCU) which protects against competition from unfair business practices (e.g., comparative advertisement);
• The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine (the NCTVRBU) which regulates the TV and radio broadcasting companies;
• The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine (in the nearest future – the State Debt Management Agency) which covers the advertisement of state debt securities; 
• The National Bank of Ukraine (the NBU) which covers the advertising on the financial markets, including consumer loans, but excluding the stock market;
• The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (the NSSMC) which covers advertising related to the stock market;
• The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine which covers advertising related to housebuilding;
• The State Employment Service (the SES) which covers the advertising of job vacancies (acceptance to work).

However, only the SSUFSCP and the AMCU may penalize advertisers for breaching laws according to their statutory competence. 

There are no special regulations regarding the placement of commercials in social media, celebrities' involvement in advertising, or AdTech. In these cases, a general legal advertising framework should be complied with. The law enforcement practice is not developed in this sphere either.

Advertisers are liable for 

1. placing advertisements for products prohibited by law, 
2. providing unreliable information to advertisement producers, 
3. not complying with the legal requirement regarding the content of the advertisement, 
4. placing an advertisement prohibited by law, and
5. not complying with the requirements for distributing advertisements, it they distribute them themselves. 

The administrative fine is in the amount of five times the value of the distributed advertising materials or UAH 5,100 (ca EUR 150) if there is no possibility of establishing the advertisement's contractual value. 

Producers of advertisements are liable for the violation of third parties’ rights. The administrative fine is in the amount of five times the value of the production of the advertising materials.

Distributors of the advertisement are liable for non-compliance with requirements for distribution or placement of the advertisement. The fine is in the amount of five times the value of the distribution of the advertising materials or UAH 5,100 (ca EUR 150) if there is no possibility of establishing the advertisement's contractual value.

No.

According to the legislation, pornographic products constitute any material objects, printed materials, audio, video products, including advertising, messages, and materials, products of mass media, electronic mass media, the content of which is a detailed image of anatomical or physiological details of sexual actions or containing information of a pornographic nature. Advertisement of the products of pornographic nature is forbidden.  

Partially.

Pleasure products are attributed to the category of sexual products.
It is forbidden:

1. to place advertisements on residential buildings, public authorities, cultural institutions, underground passages, metro stations, electric trains and railway stations, public places, street markets, or outdoor advertising sites;
2. to use such information in advertisement via media that may affect social moral health;
3. to place a printed advertisement in any place, other than specialized media;

At the same time, advertising sexual products that do not contain images and texts of a sexual nature is allowed without any restrictions. 

Yes.

Advertising of the intimate meetings for remuneration and deviant forms of intimate relations in non-specialized media is prohibited. 

Partially.

As beer is considered alcohol, the general restrictions for the advertisement of alcohol apply. Thus, it is prohibited to advertise alcohol on TV or radio from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., in any printed media (except for specialized publications on alcohol), on the outer and inner surfaces of vehicles and the subway, by methods of on-site or outdoor advertisement, advertisement campaigns (except for specialized exhibitions).

The following actions are forbidden:

1. to use persons under 18 years of age as models;
2. to give the impression that alcohol consumption can be a factor in achieving success, resolving personal problems, or being stimulated or relaxed. Also, it is forbidden to give the impression that most people drink alcohol; 
3. to represent the process of alcohol consumption;
4. to distribute advertising without noticeable warning about the dangers of alcohol addiction;
5. to locate advertising materials closer than 300 meters of direct visibility from any educational institutions where children under 18 years of age study; 
6. to encourage the use of alcoholic beverages or negatively assess abstinence from alcoholic beverages; 
7. to disseminate advertisement without noticeable warning regarding the consequences of alcohol consumption;
8. to use images of doctors and other healthcare professionals, celebrities;

However, the sponsoring of public events is allowed (except those events designed to be attended by persons under 18 years of age). 

Advertisers must allocate 5% of the advertising budget to producing and distributing social advertisements about the harm caused by alcohol consumption.

Partially.

As for beer.

Partially.

As for beer.

Partially.

It is prohibited to advertise cigarettes on TV, radio, the Internet (except for the websites for users of the full legal age with confirmation regarding the age), in any printed media (except for specialized publications on cigarettes), on the outer and inner surfaces of vehicles and the subway, on public events designed to be attended by persons under 18 years of age, by methods of on-site or outdoor advertising, advertising campaigns (except for specialized exhibitions).
The following are forbidden:

1. to use persons under 18 years of age as models;
2. to give the impression that smoking can be a factor in achieving success, resolving personal problems, or becoming stimulated or relaxed. Also, it is prohibited to give the impression that most people smoke; 
3. to represent the process of smoking;
4. to sponsor public events;
5. to locate advertising materials closer than 300 meters of direct visibility from any educational institutions where children under 18 years of age study;
6. to encourage the use of tobacco products or negatively assess abstinence from smoking; 
7. to disseminate advertising without noticeable warning concerning the consequences of smoking;
8. to use images of doctors and other healthcare professionals, celebrities;
9. to distribute advertising on associated goods (lighters, ashtrays);
10. to exchange  tobacco products for any other goods, works, services;
11. to make the right to participate in lotteries, games, competitions and other entertainment events contingent on purchasing of tobacco products; 
12. to sell tobacco products in a set with any other goods not related to the use of tobacco products; 
13. to send messages to an indefinite number of people by mail, e-mail, mobile communications.

Sponsoring of public events is prohibited. 

Advertisers must allocate 5% of the advertising budget to produce and distribute social advertising about the harm caused by smoking.

Partially.

Electronic devices fall out the scope of restrictions imposed for tobacco industry as they are not considered tobacco products. However, all restrictions for tobacco are applicable to the supplements (tobacco sticks, liquid).

No.

Advertising of prescription medicines to the general public is prohibited. The same applies to the over-the-counter medicines, which are included in the special list of advertising prohibition, approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. For more information regarding pharmaceutical advertising regulation and medical device advertising please see this CMS Expert Guide.

Partially.

It is prohibited to refer to the medicinal properties of dietary supplements. 

Partially.

Such practices are allowed for advertising only after these practices are approved for use in practice in Ukraine by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. For example, among such admitted treatments is medical massage. As for the other practices, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine will assess them separately on issuing permission for practicing folk medicine. At the same time, it is expected that the practice issuing such permissions will be terminated in the nearest future.

In other cases, advertisements are banned.

Yes.

No specific restrictions.

Partially.

Advertising is allowed only for methods of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation (“Methods”), which are approved for use in Ukraine by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

If a method is approved, an advertisement must contain the objective information about this method of application and a clear notice that the method is being promoted in an advertisement. The images of healthcare professionals may not be used in such an advertisement. 

It is prohibited to place in advertising:

1. information that may give the impression that consultation with a specialist is not necessary;
2. images of changes in the human body or its parts as a result of illness, injury; 
3. statements that contribute to the emergence or development of fear of getting sick or worsening health due to not using the medical services advertised; 
4. statements that contribute to the possibility of self-diagnosis of diseases, or the pathological conditions of a person; 
5. references to the Methods as the most effective, safest, having no side effects, or specific cases of successful use of the Methods;
6. recommendations or links to the recommendations of healthcare professionals, scientific, medical institutions, and organizations regarding the advertised service; 
7. special expressions of gratitude, letters, excerpts from them with recommendations, individual stories about the application and results of the action of the advertised Methods;
8. images and verbalized names of popular people, heroes of films, television and animation films, authoritative organizations.

Partially.

Advertising gambling, including online gambling, is mainly prohibited, namely advertising on TV, radio, or the Internet from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., in any printed media (except for specialized publications on gambling), on the outer and inner surfaces of vehicles and the subway, on goods (including clothing) intended primarily for persons under 21 years of age, or in places of entertainment, theatre and concert, sports and other events for persons under 21 years of age. 
The following are forbidden:

1. to use persons under 21 years of age as models;
2. to give the impression that gambling can be easily won or that gambling can be a source of income or can become an alternative to working;
3. to sponsor events designed to be attended by persons under 21 years of age (except sports events);
4. to disseminate advertising without an explicit warning about gambling addiction;
5. to target vulnerable groups of people (minors, low-income people, people with mental illness);
6. to promote gambling without a gambling license or information about a license;
7. to give unreliable, incomplete, fake information about promoted gambling.

Partially.

As for gambling.

Partially.

State lotteries are allowed to advertise. At the same time, other businesses cannot use the phrases “state lottery,” “national lottery,” “Ukrainian lottery” in their advertising materials in any way.

Partially.

No, it is not, but there are some additional requirements to be observed: 

• advertisers are the only companies allowed to provide financial services. The advertisement must provide information about the requisites of the relevant licence or permission; 
• unfair advertising is prohibited, e.g., advertising (i) without obtaining a licence or permit, (ii) without information about the conditions of the financial services provided or that use a font size that is too small or any other representations that may perplex the visual reception, (iii) that is pronounced too fast, etc.

Yes.

No specific restrictions.

Yes.

No specific restrictions.

Partially.

Advertisement of concerts/musical live events must be accompanied by notice whether playback is used. This information should not occupy less than 5 percent of the whole area of the poster. 

Also, tobacco and gambling brands may not sponsor events, especially if an event is designed to be attended by persons under 21 years of age.  

Partially.

A political advertisement means information (in any form) disseminated (in any form) to promote or to draw attention to the activity of a political party and its position on the matter of state and local affairs. Use of symbols or logos, organizing entertainment or public events is considered political advertising.
The following main restrictions apply: 

1. In printed publications (except when a political party is a publisher), the place set aside for political advertising during the election process may not exceed 20 percent of all printed place;
2. Hidden election campaigning or non-marked political advertising or promoting candidates by advertising commodities with related text/images on them is prohibited;
3. An advertisement promoting a specific political party or candidate must be sponsored by the respective campaign office. The client of an advertisement must be mentioned in a noticeable way;
4. It is prohibited to share promotional materials via news or place an advertisement on a state and municipality body building;
5. Political advertisement cannot be mixed with other commercials;
6. Foreign media, acting in Ukraine, cannot be used for sharing political advertisements;  
7. All promotional materials must be removed before “silence day”.

Partially.

The use of the Ukrainian language is mandatory.