AGCM

PRESS RELEASE

Antitrust’s investigation on “Sismalarm”
to ascertain the correctness of the advertisement
on the alarm device for earthquakes

The Antitrust Authority has initiated an investigation on the San Marino society Guardian Srl and on I.Co Innovative Company Srl, pursuant to a report by the Civil Protection Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, escorted by some complaints from consumers and rival businesses. The Competition and Market Guarantor Authority (Agcm), headed by Giovanni Pitruzzella, is going to ascertain the correctness or otherwise of the advertising campaign currently underway on the “Guardian SismAlarm” device, put forward as a suitable tool to alert users of an imminent earthquake, thereby enabling them to promptly find shelter.

Given that our Country has a territory at high risk of seismic movements, the launch of the investigation has become necessary so as to assess whether, and if so to which extent, the producer is correctly presenting the SismAlarm system without exploiting consumers’ normal feelings of fear about seismic phenomena. At present, the promotion of this device is found to lack information on essential characteristics of the equipment: in particular, information about the technology utilized and the actual time advantage the consumer would allegedly benefit from prior to the occurrence of the seismic event.

The Authority shall also assess the opportunity of suspending the advertising campaign, by virtue of its nature and currency, so as to ascertain whether the promotional message is capable of misleading a large number of consumers.

Rome, 12 December 2014