The AMCU Fined Kyivstar for Advertising the Fastest Mobile Internet
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has fined Kyivstar 17.5 million hryvnias for distributing advertisements that, according to the agency’s findings, misled consumers.
The AMCU’s decision was based on the use of the claim “No. 1 in mobile internet speed” in the advertising materials.
According to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the main advertising message was accompanied by information about the source of the study, the measurement period, and average figures; however, this data was presented in such a way that it was difficult to perceive it simultaneously with the main advertising claim.
“It is precisely the claim ‘No. 1 in mobile internet speed,’ taken together with information about the source, the period during which the relevant measurements were conducted, and the average figures obtained from their results—was presented in a manner that made it difficult to perceive it simultaneously with the main claim,” Kirilenko emphasized.
The AMCU concluded that such actions by Kyivstar PJSC constitute a violation of Article 15-1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection Against Unfair Competition,” which pertains to the dissemination of misleading information.
Following its review of the case, the Antimonopoly Committee decided to impose a fine of 17.5 million hryvnias on the mobile operator.
Company Position
The company provided an official position on this issue:
“Kyivstar respects the role of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in ensuring fair competition and protecting consumer rights, and also cooperates constructively with the Committee.
At the same time, the company does not share the previous conclusions of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine regarding the use of the advertising claim “No. 1 mobile internet speed” and considers them unfounded. Kyivstar emphasizes that the communication complied with the requirements of current legislation, and consumers were provided with all the necessary information for a proper understanding of the advertising message.
Using the results of research by the independent international company Ookla®, on which Kyivstar’s advertising claim was based, to confirm marketing claims is a common practice in the global electronic communications market. Kyivstar applied exactly this approach, properly disclosing information about the data source, the research period, and other material conditions for using its results. "Kyivstar will exercise its right under the law to appeal the decision to impose a fine," the company said in an official statement.
This was announced by Pavlo Kyrylenko, Chairman of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
Previously, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine was to issue a ruling on an application by the country’s largest mobile operator, Kyivstar, to acquire control over the cloud provider GigaCloud. The AMCU’s decision will determine whether the company can complete the deal to acquire one of Ukraine’s leading cloud service providers.
Recently, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine found Nova Interprise LLC and Torgova Trubna Kompaniya LLC guilty of anti-competitive concerted actions during the procurement of barite concentrate for JSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya.”
