Veřejnoprávní regulace reklamy na sociálních sítích k ochraně spotřebitele

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis examines public-law regulation of advertising on social networks from the perspective of consumer protection. The introductory theoretical section summarises the key Czech and European legal instruments—above all Act No. 40/1995 Coll. on the Regulation of Advertising, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Digital Services Act (DSA)—and complements them with ethical self-regulatory mechanisms such as the Advertising Code and the Fair Influencer Marketing Code, while identifying the most common risks, namely unfair commercial practices and misuse of personal data.

The empirical part employed a quantitative online questionnaire completed by 102 respondents of different ages, genders, educational levels, and social backgrounds. The research tested two hypotheses: (H1) consumers’ awareness of the legal framework governing social-media advertising is insufficient for effective protection, and (H2) consumers are unfamiliar with the available remedies against unlawful advertising practices. Data analysis confirmed both hypotheses—most respondents cannot recognise legally problematic advertising, are unaware of the competent supervisory bodies, and generally do not use the available enforcement tools when their rights are violated.

Based on these findings, the thesis recommends systematically integrating legal and media literacy into school curricula and public-awareness campaigns, providing users with clear guides on how to report or sanction illegal advertising, and strengthening oversight of influencer marketing through a combination of self-regulation and state supervision.

The study thus offers a comprehensive overview of the legal framework, up-to-date data on Czech social-media users’ awareness, and a set of concrete proposals for improving consumer protection in the digital environment.