Commerce Ministry refers 20 advertisers to Interior Ministry for flouting COVID-19 rules

Commerce Ministry refers 20 advertisers to Interior Ministry for flouting COVID-19 rules

RIYADH — The Ministry of Commerce has penalized several commercial enterprises and referred 20 advertisers on Snapchat to the Ministry of Interior for violating the anti-coronavirus preventive and precautionary measures.These brand promoters visited the commercial enterprises, advertised for them, and invited the public to visit these firms.The Ministry of Commerce had announced earlier on Thursday that it has referred seven advertisers — four women and three men — to the Ministry of Interior.Meanwhile, during the past hours, the Ministry of Commerce detected 13 other male and female advertisers and referred their violations to the Ministry of Interior, and penalized the violating commercial firms. In a related development, Okaz newspaper has detected several fraudulent practices by advertisers on social media platforms, as their practices contravene the Ministry of Commerce mandatory precautionary measures, necessitating prevention of crowding in malls, markets, and other commercial places.In essence, the directives call for preventing crowding and jostling of shoppers within or without the commercial facilities. Among the fraudulent practices are to advertise by giving false impressions