PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE CONSUMER GROUPS IN ADVERTISING

Abstract

          This research has three objectives: 1) To examine consumer protection through benchmarks against Misleading commercial practices under the European Union’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). 2) To analyse the regulatory model that classifies advertising within the broader notion of “commercial practice” and to compare this model with the approach of Thailand’s Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522. 3) To propose guidelines for protecting vulnerable consumer groups in advertising under the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 in Thailand.

          The study employed a documentary research method, collecting and analyzing data from Thai and international sources, including Thai statutes, foreign laws, judicial decisions, legal treatises, law journal articles, theses, related research reports, and other legal documents available in electronic media.

          The findings indicate that the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 adopts a single‑tier view of consumers, granting blanket protection to the general public. By contrast, the EU’s UCPD, whose general provisions are applied case by case, does not extend universal protection; instead, it sets expectations for consumers through a two‑tier perspective that affords additional safeguards to vulnerable consumers through exceptions.

          Accordingly, the researcher proposes that consumers be assigned a degree of responsibility for safeguarding their own interests mirroring the EU approach as a mechanism to reinforce consumer empowerment while balancing consumer protection with the reduction of trade barriers for businesses.