From our newsletter: The largest Dutch trade union, FNV, ran a high-profile campaign objecting to the major budget cuts made by this government: a TV ad for the FNV showing Prime Minister Rutte laughing heartily, while three people with occupational disabilities talk about their precarious financial situations as a result of the Employment Capacity Act. Each personal story is followed by footage of Prime Minister Rutte laughing. The FNV trade union asks viewers to support FNV in its campaigns against the government: ‘A raw deal for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people; sign the petition at laatzenietvallen.nl’. The campaign received extensive media coverage. Is that considered permitted use? Absolutely, according to the ruling by the Advertising Code Committee (RCC). The RCC received over 190 complaints from all over the Netherlands, of which four representative complaints were addressed. The legal issue here was: does freedom of expression extend to standards of good taste and decency (Article 2 of the Dutch Advertising Code)? The RCC is unequivocal: this is clearly a politically motivated ad. Significant differences of opinion occur in politics and the RCC has to be very careful how it responds. Of course no one actually thinks that Prime Minister Rutte and his Cabinet are actually gloating over the budget cuts. The sharp contrast is also apparent from the implicit pun in Dutch: the ‘raw deal’ or ‘hard gelag’ for people who have occupational disabilities as opposed to the ‘loud laughter’ or ‘hard gelach’ of Mark Rutte. The FNV is allowed to use its right to freedom of expression in this way. This does not violate the standards of decency. Despite their vulnerable positions on the labour market, these people are shown as strong.
Ebba Hoogenraad and Daan van Eek have represented FNV in this matter.
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From our newsletter: The largest Dutch trade union, FNV, ran a high-profile campaign objecting to the major budget cuts made by this government: a TV ad for the FNV showing Prime Minister Rutte laughing heartily, while three people with occupational disabilities talk about their precarious financial situations as a result of the Employment Capacity Act. Each personal story is followed by footage of Prime Minister Rutte laughing. The FNV trade union asks viewers to support FNV in its campaigns against the government: ‘A raw deal for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people; sign the petition at laatzenietvallen.nl’. The campaign received extensive media coverage. Is that considered permitted use? Absolutely, according to the ruling by the Advertising Code Committee (RCC). The RCC received over 190 complaints from all over the Netherlands, of which four representative complaints were addressed. The legal issue here was: does freedom of expression extend to standards of good taste and decency (Article 2 of the Dutch Advertising Code)? The RCC is unequivocal: this is clearly a politically motivated ad. Significant differences of opinion occur in politics and the RCC has to be very careful how it responds. Of course no one actually thinks that Prime Minister Rutte and his Cabinet are actually gloating over the budget cuts. The sharp contrast is also apparent from the implicit pun in Dutch: the ‘raw deal’ or ‘hard gelag’ for people who have occupational disabilities as opposed to the ‘loud laughter’ or ‘hard gelach’ of Mark Rutte. The FNV is allowed to use its right to freedom of expression in this way. This does not violate the standards of decency. Despite their vulnerable positions on the labour market, these people are shown as strong.
Ebba Hoogenraad and Daan van Eek have represented FNV in this matter.