How does a “Sweep” work in practice?
There are two phases: – 1. The first phase is the co-ordinated sweep action: Participating Member States systematically check for practices on different websites which breach consumer protection law. For instance, it is against consumer protection rules to advertise a product for free and afterwards tying the consumer to a long term subscription. It is also against consumer protection rules to advertise a product for free and still require a one-off payment. It is further against consumer protection rules not to provide the name of the trader and main characteristics of the product. – 2. The second phase is the enforcement action: During this phase, authorities will further investigate websites flagged as “having irregularities” during the sweep and take appropriate follow up actions to ensure that non compliant sites are corrected and/or closed. National authorities will investigate and take enforcement actions for national cases. When it is a cross -border case (e.g. where the trader
