EU Law: The Omnibus Directive and Paid Rankings
Effective May 2022, the Omnibus Directive requires disclosing paid placement in search and listing results and bans fake or unverified reviews.
The Omnibus Directive, Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (also called the Modernisation Directive), amended the UCPD and three other consumer directives to add transparency obligations for the digital economy. It entered into force in January 2020, had a member-state transposition deadline of 28 November 2021, and applied from 28 May 2022. Two of its additions are especially relevant to affiliates and publishers.
Paid ranking must be disclosed
The Omnibus Directive introduced a specific duty around search and listing results:
- New Article 7(4a) UCPD — when presenting search results in response to a consumer’s query, traders must disclose the main parameters determining the ranking and their relative importance.
- New Annex I point 11a — providing search results without clearly disclosing any paid advertising or payment specifically made to achieve a higher ranking is a banned practice.
Direct relevance to comparison and 'best of' sites
If your affiliate site ranks or lists products and that ordering is influenced by payment or commission, EU law requires you to disclose that paid placement affects the ranking. This is a distinct obligation beyond disclosing individual affiliate links.
Fake and unverified reviews
- New Annex I point 23b — stating that reviews are from consumers who actually used or bought the product, without taking reasonable and proportionate steps to verify this, is banned.
- New Annex I point 23c — submitting or commissioning fake reviews or endorsements, or misrepresenting reviews, is banned.
Penalties
The Omnibus Directive introduced EU-wide consumer remedies for UCPD breaches and fines of at least 4% of annual turnover (or up to €2 million where turnover information is unavailable) for widespread cross-border infringements.
For the underlying prohibition on hidden advertising, see the UCPD; for platform transparency duties, see the DSA.
Authoritative sources
Last reviewed July 2026. This page is general educational information, not legal or tax advice.