NOS fined 350,000 euros by ANACOM over TV advertising rules

The Portuguese communications regulator, ANACOM, has imposed a 350,000 euro fine on the telecommunications operator NOS. The sanction follows the company's unilateral decision to mandate advertising within the automatic recording functionality of its television service.

This change affected approximately 821,641 subscribers nationwide. According to the regulator, NOS failed to provide adequate written notice of the changes and did not respect the mandatory 30-day advance notice period. Furthermore, the company failed to inform customers of their legal right to terminate their contracts without penalty if they disagreed with the new advertising requirements.

This regulatory action follows previous scrutiny of the sector. In June, the Autoridade da Concorrência (AdC) issued fines totaling 13.5 million euros to NOS, MEO, Vodafone, and Accenture regarding anti-competitive agreements in subscription television and advertising services. NOS has already contested the recent ANACOM decision.