Nekalé obchodné praktiky

Unfair competition and unfair commercial practices of influencers: Legal analysis in the Slovak and comparative context. Influencer marketing has become a dominant and highly effective form of digital advertising, fundamentally changing traditional communication strategies. Its rapid, often unregulated growth poses significant legal challenges in the areas of unfair competition and consumer protection. This article provides a comprehensive legal analysis of influencer misconduct, including hidden advertising, misleading claims, buying fake followers, and writing fake reviews. The article systematically maps and evaluates the Slovak legal framework, covering private law regulation of unfair competition and public law regulation of unfair commercial practices. The methodology includes analysis of relevant Slovak and Czech legislation, doctrine, and application practice. An in-depth, comparative analysis of the German Federal Court of Justice, Spanish and Czech case law offers valuable interpretive guidance. The paper also assesses national self-regulatory mechanisms and gives recommendations de lege ferenda to strengthen legal certainty and protection for all in the digital market.

The Polarizing Concept of Sexist Advertising in the Context of Unfair Competition. This article offers a critical examination of the legal classification of so-called sexist advertising within the framework of unfair competition law, construed broadly to encompass the regulation of unfair commercial practices under the Czech Consumer Protection Act. Drawing on definitions articulated in soft-law mechanisms and self- regulatory initiatives; the author analyzes the development of the concept of sexist advertising and its interpretation in recent Czech case law. The study aims to integrate these conceptual frameworks into the legal architecture governing unfair competition and unfair commercial practices. Emphasis is placed on the regulatory tension between the objectives of competition law and the prohibition of discriminatory advertising. The author evaluates the potential for addressing such advertising through the general clause prohibiting "infringements of public law with competition implications". The article concludes that a reflexive and principled approach - rooted in the regulatory purposes of competition law - provides a coherent solution. Such an approach prevents the incorporation of inconsistent axiological standards into the application of unfair competition provisions, thereby safeguarding legal certainty and doctrinal consistency.