The Competition and Market Authority has launched a preliminary investigation against the companies U-Earth Biotech Ltd. and Pure Air Zone Italy Srl, to challenge the activities of promotion and sale of the "U-Mask", the most popular masks of the moment, very popular among VIPs and influencers and sold at a high price, between 16 and 34 euros.
According to the Antitrust, the masks would be sold and promoted with deceptive and aggressive ways "by unduly exploiting the current health emergency situation to induce the consumer to buy the advertised product at high prices", reads the an article.
In detail, the advertisements on the masks would emphasize the effectiveness, in terms of prevention, by deceiving consumers and inducing them to purchase a "product lacking the characteristics and filtering capacity advertised, resulting in a potential health hazard".
In fact, the company that produces the famous U-Mask speaks of a protective efficacy (for each filter) equal to 200 hours of actual use. In reality, these characteristics "are not duly proven" explains the Antitrust. In addition, the mask would be “improperly compared” with other types of masks which respect all the canons of personal protective equipment (PPE). The presentation on the website reads: “U-Mask has superior efficiency, comparable to an FFP3”. Instead "U-Mask is not certified as PPE but is registered with the Ministry of Health as a class I medical device", specifies the Authority, according to which the company would also be guilty of omissions and ambiguities "in the information on the site in relation the right of withdrawal, the consumer forum, the legal guarantee of conformity and the extra-judicial mechanism of complaints and appeals".
“Given the topicality of the issue and the seriousness of the conduct, the Authority has at the same time a precautionary sub-proceeding was initiated, aimed at verifying the existence of the conditions for the provisional suspension of this practice, giving companies a short time to respond. On February 15, 2021, the Authority conducted inspections in the offices of U-Earth Biotech Ltd. and Pure Air Zone Italy Srl with the collaboration of the military of the Guardia di Finanza", concludes the Antitrust statement.
The Antitrust intervention comes three weeks after theopening of an investigation by the Milan prosecutor's office which, after a complaint presented by a direct competitor, decided to seize a sample of 15 masks with related filters to have them analyzed by two experts appointed by the magistrates. The investigation hypothesizes as a due act the crime of fraud in commerce against Betta Maggio, legal representative of U-Earth Biotech.
