Moroccan businesses promising free meals, products, discounts and cash prizes if the Atlas Lions beat France may face legal exposure if they fail to honor clear promotional offers, legal consultant Amine El Fethi told Hespress English.
Restaurants, cafes, clothing stores and other brands have filled social media with World Cup giveaways ahead of Morocco’s quarter-final against France, turning the match into a marketing rush as businesses compete for attention online.
El Fethi said commercial promises posted by companies cannot automatically be treated as jokes or harmless social media engagement if they are clear, specific, provable and issued by a business account to attract consumers.
“From a legal perspective, when such a statement is clear, specific, provable, issued by a business in the course of its commercial activity, and addressed to consumers, the fulfilment of the announced condition may create an obligation for the company to honor its promise,” he said.
He cited Morocco’s Law 31-08 on consumer protection, which prohibits advertising containing false or misleading information about products, services, prices or commitments made by businesses.
El Fethi said promotional posts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Stories remain subject to consumer protection rules if they appear to make a genuine commercial offer.
Under the same law, authorities may ask businesses to justify promotional claims, including what was promised, who qualified and what conditions applied. El Fethi said a company may struggle to argue that a post was only a joke if consumers could reasonably understand it as a real offer.
Violations of provisions on misleading advertising can carry fines ranging from MAD 50,000 to MAD 250,000, rising to as much as MAD 1 million when the offender is a company or another legal entity, he said.
Those fines are paid to the State Treasury, not directly to consumers. Consumers who suffer harm may separately seek compensation, a refund or enforcement of the advertised offer through civil action.
El Fethi said the difference between a meme and a binding commercial promise depends on the wording, context and account publishing the offer. A humorous tone alone does not remove liability if the post is published by an official business account, contains a specific offer and is used to promote sales.
The warning comes as consumer protection authorities worldwide increasingly treat social media advertising like traditional advertising, holding companies responsible for misleading promotions even when campaigns are published on informal digital channels.
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