The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda has initiated a sanctioning file against a tourism service platform operating throughout Spain for not removing vacation rental ads located in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel.
The procedure is opened for possible practices of illegal advertising, as the portal maintains offers of accommodations in occupied Palestinian territory that were not removed despite the express request from Consumer Affairs for their withdrawal.
In a first action, the Ministry sent a request to seven large multinational companies in the sector, warning them of the existence of illegal content on their pages, linked to commercial communications about accommodations located in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, and demanding their immediate removal or blocking.
Six of the affected companies responded by blocking access from Spain to those ads or removing them from their platforms. However, one of them decided to keep them visible to Spanish users, despite having been notified up to three times for these same facts.
Consumer Affairs had already warned that those platforms that did not remove or prevent access from Spain to such content could be subject to new actions by the Ministry. Now, the Department headed by Pablo Bustinduy activates this file against the only multinational that did not remove the flagged ads.
Possible sanctions and legal framework
According to the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users, these behaviors could constitute an infringement that, if aggravating circumstances are appreciated, can be considered serious, with economic sanctions of up to 100,000 euros or between four and six times the illegal profit obtained through such practices.
From the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs, they emphasize that the opening of the sanctioning file does not determine in advance the outcome of the investigation nor does it imply a definitive resolution regarding the company's responsibility.
The action of Consumption is based on the Royal Decree-Law that includes urgent measures against genocide in Gaza and support for the Palestinian population. In particular, it is grounded in its article 4, which establishes that advertising related to the marketing of goods from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as services provided in those settlements, will be considered illegal advertising.
The affected advertisements correspond to accommodations located in more than 200 postal codes linked to Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, listed in the publication from December in the Official State Bulletin.
"The Royal Decree-Law approved by the Government responds to the need to adopt measures that contribute to alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian population in the territories attacked by Israel," the Ministry defended in the statement.