Italy’s Competition Authority AGCM today announced the imposition of EUR 1.3 million fine on online broker eToro for misleading advertising.

According to the Authority, on the website www.etoro.com/it, the company suggests that shares can be traded without having to pay commissions. In reality, there are other costs of various kinds and operational constraints for consumers.

The regulator claims that eToro has violated articles 20, 21 and 22 of the Consumer Code because it did not immediately and adequately inform users about the economic conditions and technical characteristics of the products and services offered, thus inducing them to make a decision of a commercial nature that they would not otherwise have taken.

In fact, through the dissemination of messages on the website www.etoro.com/it, the company suggests that consumers can trade in shares with commissions equal to zero and does not highlight the presence of other costs of various kinds, the risk of additional disbursements linked to changes in exchange rates, the existence of operational constraints and limitations on the rights of the customer who purchases the shares, in particular the impossibility of transferring the shares to other intermediaries.