New draft law to regulate advertisements: Parliamentarian

CAIRO – 21 October 2018: The parliamentarian Mohamed Farag Amer submitted Saturday a draft law calling for establishing advertisers syndicate aims to regulate a huge advertisement that have spread in the recent period without censorship. It is scheduled to be discussed next Monday and Tuesday.

Amer told Egypt Today that a draft law calls for including of visual and audio advertising, readable advertising, external advertising "posters" and marketing under control.

He added that article (4) of the draft law stipulates that any person who practices the profession of advertising without obtaining a license from the Syndicate of Advertisements will be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months and a fine of not less than LE 10,000 and not more than LE 100,000.

“In order to obtain a license to practice the advertising profession and for marketing companies on television must be subject to the consumer protection” he said, adding that any violation of these conditions is considered a crime punishable by law from the financial fine to the withdrawal of the license and the union has the right to initiate legal action against it.

The draft law also aims at developing the profession of advertising, updating and encouraging the industry, protecting the rights of workers in the profession, securing their future, achieving social care for them, raising their cultural, intellectual and material level, providing pensions, social security and health insurance for them and their families.

“The draft law exempts the Advertising Syndicate from all taxes and duties imposed by the government,” Amer added.

In recent years, advertising have increased significantly, especially in the field of medicines, and have seen numerous demands inside and outside the parliament to put an end to the chaos that hit the advertising market recently.