Thesis · September 018 citations reads 199 author: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects

1.6. Analyzing root causes of the problem 
The reasons of the problems regarding misleading advertising in Uzbekistan are related to 
the weak-designed legal framework. In particular, substantive issues regarding legal requirements 
have three main drawbacks, which cause problems in the practice. 
1. Underdevelopment and complexity of the deception requirement 
1.1. Legal requirement on deception, especially forms or ways of deception are described 
in a tangled mass within the legal concept of improper advertising. For instance, the Article 13 of 
Advertising Law determines unfairness, falsity, inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration and omission 
as main conducts which might cause deception.
36
Actually, all these forms of deception, except 
unfairness, belong to the two main categories: statement and omission. It means that falsity, 
inaccuracy, ambiguity and exaggeration are the forms of misleading statement, on the other hand, 
omission of facts is the second category of deception, however, unfairness is an independent 
category, which cannot be seen as a way of deception. ICC International Code of Advertising 
36
Improper advertising is unfair, false advertising which actually misleads or tends to mislead consumers by the 
way of inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission, or through the violation of requirements on time, place and 
way of advertising and other legislative requirements, which can cause damages to person and state. 
See Advertising 
Law. 

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Practice, which determines international standards on advertising regulation, describes deceptions 
as a statement or visual presentation and omission
37
. The US Lanham Act defines deception as 
misleading description of fact or representation of fact and omission of fact.
38
The EU Directive 
concerning Misleading and Comparative Advertising describes deception as presentation and 
omission.
39
Thus, Uzbekistan`s legislature made a confused legal framework for deception by 
adding to it unfairness standard, and this complicated framework causes ambiguity and 
miscomprehension in practice as mentioned in previous paragraph. 
1.2. Legal standards for misleading advertising in Uzbekistan also remain underdeveloped 
due to the lack of materiality requirement. The materiality is a main criterion to evaluate the impact 
of misleading advertising on consumer behavior. Materiality means an advertising message turns 
to actionable which 
will likely affect on consumer purchasing decision, 
that is a purchase of 
product is presumed to be material.
40
The ICC Consolidated Code of Advertising and Marketing 
Communication Practice, as a global guideline for advertising regulation, sets the rule on 
materiality under a basic principle of honesty which states that relevant factors likely to affect 
consumer` decision should be communicated in a such way and a such time that consumers can 
take them into account.
41
The FTC act defines false advertising as a misleading in material 
respect.
42
The US case law, especially so called Skil test, which developed legal standards, 
determined
materiality as likeliness to influence purchasing decisions or the audience behavior
43
The EU Directive concerning Misleading and Comparative Advertising describes materiality in 
37
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) issued International Code of Advertising Practices in 1937 (revised 
1949, 1955, 1966, 1973, 1987, 1997), which follows the well-established policy of the ICC and intends to complement 
the existing frameworks of national and international law. The Code defines deceptions as violation of a basic principle 
so called truthful presentation. See “ICC International Code of Advertising Practice,” No. 240/381 Rev. (International 
Chamber of Commerce, 1997). 
38
See Lanham Act § 43(a) at Lanham (Trademark) Act (15 U.S.C.) (1946). 
39
See Article 2(b) of Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning misleading and 
comparative advertising of 2006, CONSIL, EP 32006L0114, 2006/114/EC CONSIL, EP (Council of Europe 2006). 
40
Felix Kent and Douglas Wood, Legal Problems in Advertising (M. Bender, 1984). 
41
In 2006 many of the marketing codes were consolidated into one document, the Consolidated ICC Code of 
Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice. The Code provides advices by ICC as guidelines and framework 
interpretations. The ninth revision of the Code (and fist of this consolidated version) builds in order to provide 
insightful guidance on marketing and advertising around the globe. See “ICC Consolidated Code of Advertising and 
Marketing Communications Practice,” no. 240-46/660 (International Chamber of Commerce, 2011). 
42
Paragraph 55 Federal Trade Commission Act (2013). 
43
Skil Corporation v. Rockwell International Corp., 375 F. Supp. 777 (N.D. Ill. District Court 1974). 

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advertising as a likeliness to affect economic behavior of consumers.
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Absence of materiality 
requirement, which is crucial element of the legal framework, brings a big obstacle to evaluate 
misleading advertising properly and to enforce it effectively. 
2. Non-deception standards are excessive and unnecessary in the legal concept 
Apart of deceptions standard, the legal framework of misleading advertising includes 
"alien" non-deception standards such as non-content regulation and substantiation standard which 
are not able to identify deception at all. The presence of such strict legal standards causes 
unreasonable government interference to free commercial speech of advertisers and restricts flow 
of commercial information in the market. Therefore they are unnecessary and excessive in proper 
regulation of misleading advertising. Perhaps, control of time, place and manner of advertising or 
substantiation of facts is useful for administrative-command economy and therefore it is handed 
down to Uzbek legislation from Soviet Union when Uzbekistan was under the influence of 
centrally planned economy. 
3. Weak co-regulation and voluntary compliance deficiency
Voluntary compliance is a special enforcement program according to which enforcement 
authority helps advertisers to voluntarily filfull the advertising law by giving them non-binding 
advices or administrative interpretation of the law in forms of industry guides or trade regulation 
rules. However, Uzbekistan does not still have such extra-judicial guidance concerning advertising 
law enforcement which will help to understand administrative approach
on what types of 
advertising might be considered deceptive
in order to prevent deception in a cooperative way. 
First, there is no any guidelines or recommendations that have detailed explanation about nature, 
interpretation, evaluation and implementation of deception in advertising
. 
The deficiency of
non-
binding instruments causes misunderstanding, misclassification and diversity in implementation 
of legal requirements which are currently exist in practice. Second, the Competition Committee 
does not have cooperation with Consumer Protection Federation and mass media on screening 
44
See Article 2(b) of CONSIL, EP 32006L0114. 

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deceptive advertising, even though the cooperation on screening is considered to be effective in 
preventing deception in its infancy stage.