Preamble
This Code of Conduct ("Code") specifies the behaviors expected from Affiliates participating in affiliate marketing programs, whether operated directly by a Merchant or via the Affilane platform.
It complements the contractual obligations of the Affiliate Marketing Program Agreement concluded between the Merchant and the Affiliate. Its acceptance is a condition for participation in the Program. Any violation constitutes a contractual breach justifying the sanctions described in Section 5.
This Code has a triple objective:
- Protecting the ecosystem: ensuring a fair environment for loyal Affiliates and preventing program degradation by abusive practices;
- Protecting the Merchant: limiting legal risks (misleading practices, infringement, LCEN, influencer law, GDPR) and financial risks (fraudulent commissions);
- Protecting consumers: ensuring fair advertising information, commercial transparency, and trust in promotional content.
This Code is based on French and European regulations and industry best practices.
1. Guiding Principles
The Affiliate adheres to the following principles:
1.1 Loyalty
All promotion practices must be loyal, transparent, and honest towards consumers, competitors, the Merchant, and Affilane.
1.2 Advertising Transparency
Each promotional content is clearly identified as such, without ambiguity for the reader/viewer (Article 5 of Law No. 2023-451 as amended, Articles L.121-1 to L.121-5 of the French Consumer Code).
1.3 Legality
The Affiliate complies with all regulations applicable to their activity: consumer law, intellectual property, personal data, fraud prevention.
1.4 Authentic Performance
Clicks and Conversions must result from a genuine user interest in promoted offers, never from technical manipulation or misleading incentives.
1.5 Responsibility
The Affiliate is responsible for all their content, channels, and subcontractors (including sub-affiliates).
2. Prohibited Behaviors
The following behaviors constitute serious breaches of this Code and the Affiliate Program. The list is illustrative and not exhaustive.
2.1 Tracking Manipulation
Cookie stuffing — Forced placement of cookies on a user's browser without them having voluntarily clicked on an affiliate link (invisible iframes, hidden redirects, abusive pixels, parasitic browser extensions).
Cookie hijacking — Interception or replacement of cookies placed by other Affiliates or by the Merchant to attribute to oneself conversions not resulting from the Affiliate's activity.
Forced clicks — Simulation of automatic clicks via scripts, bots, or non-voluntary user interactions.
Improper attribution — Placement of affiliate links on pages where the user arrives after already being exposed to other Merchant channels (newsletter, SEA, direct branded search), with the aim of diverting the commission.
Placement of cookies without consent — Placement of cookies requiring consent (tracking, analytics) without prior collection compliant with Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act and the CNIL recommendation of September 17, 2020.
Legal qualification: fraud against automated data processing system (Article 323-1 et seq. of the French Criminal Code, up to 5 years of imprisonment and €150,000 fine); misleading commercial practice (L.121-2 French Consumer Code); GDPR and Data Protection Act violation.
2.2 Intellectual Property Infringements
Typosquatting — Registration of domain names imitating, through deliberate typos, the trademarks or domain names of the Merchant (e.g., amazone.fr for amazon.fr).
Unauthorized use of trademarks — Use of Merchant trademarks, logos, visuals, or slogans in:
- domain names;
- URLs or subdomains;
- social media accounts;
- meta-keyword tags;
- displayed content suggesting official link with the Merchant.
Unauthorized use of third-party content — Reproduction of photos, texts, videos, or graphics belonging to third parties (including the Merchant) without appropriate license.
Unauthorized brand bidding — Bidding on keywords corresponding to Merchant trademarks listed in Annex 2 of the main contract, in the context of paid search campaigns (Google Ads, Bing Ads, SEA), except with prior written authorization from the Merchant.
Legal qualification: trademark infringement (L.713-2 and L.713-3 French Intellectual Property Code, penalties of 4 years imprisonment and €400,000 fine — L.716-9 French Intellectual Property Code); unfair competition (Art. 1240 French Civil Code).
2.3 Artificial and Abusive Traffic
Bots and click farms — Use of robots, automated scripts, click farms, or third-party services simulating human traffic (including "incentivized traffic" paid by micro-task platforms).
Self-referral — Recording a Conversion attributable to the Affiliate by going through their own affiliate link, directly or via intermediary accounts.
Fake leads — Generation of forms, registrations, or demo requests via fictitious data or stolen identities.
Parasitic extensions — Distribution or promotion of browser extensions automatically modifying affiliate cookies, injecting unauthorized promotional codes, or interfering with attribution mechanisms.
Undisclosed incentivized traffic — Offering cashback, rewards, points, or other incentives to the end user to trigger a Conversion, without the Merchant having been informed and having explicitly authorized this type of model.
Legal qualification: fraud (313-1 CP: 5 years and €375,000), forgery (441-1 CP), computer fraud (323-1 et seq. CP); immediate termination and commission clawback.
2.4 Misleading Practices
Fake reviews — Writing, publishing, or ordering reviews on the Merchant's offers when they do not reflect authentic experience by the author, or without disclosure of the commercial link with the Merchant. Fake reviews are prohibited in all circumstances (L.121-4, 27° and 28° French Consumer Code, resulting from Directive EU 2019/2161).
False urgency / false scarcity — Display of deceptive mentions such as "Only 2 spots left," "Promotion expires in 10 minutes" when this does not correspond to reality.
False promotional codes — Distribution of fictitious promotional codes to attract traffic.
Deceptive promises — Unsupported claims about product features, performance, warranties, refunds.
Disparaging comparisons — Misleading or disparaging comparisons with competitors without verifiable factual basis.
Deception about author quality — Presenting oneself as a neutral or independent user while promoting for compensation.
Legal qualification: misleading commercial practices (L.121-2 to L.121-4 French Consumer Code); sanctions L.132-2 French Consumer Code: 2 years imprisonment, €300,000 fine, which can be increased to 10% of average annual turnover over the last three financial years.
2.5 Unfair Prospecting
Email spam — Sending promotional emails in violation of Article L.34-5 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (absence of prior consent for B2C prospecting, absence of unsubscribe link, etc.).
Unsolicited SMS — Prospecting by SMS without explicit consent.
Social media spam — Mass unsolicited messages, repetitive comments, spam on forums, Reddit, Discord, etc.
Email spoofing — Identity usurpation of third parties (trademarks, persons) in email headers, sender names, or signatures.
Phishing — Creation of sites or emails imitating legitimate services to steal credentials or card data.
Legal qualification: L.34-5 French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (sanction: €75,000); Article 226-4-1 French Criminal Code for identity theft (3 years, €45,000); GDPR (up to €20M or 4% of worldwide turnover).
2.6 System and Security Infringements
Fraudulent access — Attempts at unauthorized access to Merchant systems, Affilane, or competitors (Articles 323-1 et seq. CP).
Fraudulent maintenance — Maintenance of a session or access after authorization withdrawal.
Data alteration — Unauthorized modification of tracking data, commissions, account information.
DoS attacks — Voluntary saturation of servers, APIs, forms.
Excessive scraping — Massive and automated extraction of Merchant or Affilane content or data not authorized by ToS/API.
Legal qualification: Articles 323-1 to 323-8 CP (up to 7 years and €300,000); civil liability for damage caused.
2.7 Subcontracting and Undisclosed Sub-affiliates
Opaque sub-affiliation — Entrusting all or part of promotional activity to sub-affiliates or third parties without prior written notification to the Merchant.
Network of multiple accounts — Opening of several Affiliate accounts to circumvent Program limits or rules.
The Affiliate remains jointly liable for the acts of persons to whom they entrust promotional actions. The Affiliate's liability is engaged for any breach committed by a sub-affiliate they have recruited or paid.
3. Positive Obligations
In addition to refraining from prohibited behaviors, the Affiliate actively undertakes to:
3.1 Advertising Transparency (Law 2023-451)
- Display clearly, legibly, and identifiably the mention "Advertising" or "Commercial collaboration" on each promotional content;
- Position this mention at the beginning of the content (not relegated to the end of the description);
- Signal retouched content, AI-added content, or staged content ("modified image," "virtual image").
3.2 GDPR and Cookie Mentions
- Comply with GDPR information obligations (Articles 13-14) on their own audiences;
- Collect the consent required by Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act for any cookie or tracker placed on their supports.
3.3 Editorial Quality
- Produce professional, accurate, and up-to-date content;
- Not disparage competitors;
- Respect people, minorities, and avoid stereotypes;
- Verify factual claims before publication.
3.4 Cooperation
- Respond to Merchant or Affilane requests within a reasonable timeframe;
- Provide requested supporting documents in case of audit or anti-fraud check;
- Remove or modify within 48h content reported as non-compliant.
3.5 Information Updates
- Keep Account information up to date (contact details, legal status, IBAN, tax information);
- Report without delay any change in situation (cessation of activity, status change, etc.).
4. Detection and Monitoring
4.1 Detection Means
Fliz and Merchants may implement, for the purposes of detection and prevention of breaches of this Code:
- automated analysis of traffic patterns (IP, User-Agent, fingerprint, timing);
- anti-fraud scoring on conversions (abnormal conversion rate, inconsistent geolocation, traffic outside activity hours);
- cookie stuffing detection via mouse movement monitors and interaction signals;
- brand bidding keyword monitoring via SEO tools;
- manual review of high-performance accounts;
- third-party reports (competitors, consumers, platforms);
- quarterly documentary audits of top Affiliates per Merchant.
4.2 Legal Basis
These processings are based on the legitimate interest (Article 6.1.f GDPR) of Fliz and the Merchant to protect Program integrity, detect fraud, and ensure compliance. They are documented in a LIA (Legitimate Interest Assessment) and respect the principles of minimization and limited retention (see Privacy Policy and Affiliate Notice).
4.3 Objection
Affiliates retain their right to object (Article 21 GDPR) to these processings. The exercise of this right may however entail, in the absence of anti-fraud processing, the technical impossibility of maintaining the commercial relationship, unless compelling grounds or exercise of legal rights (exception Art. 21.1 GDPR).
5. Sanctions and Gradation
Breaches of this Code are subject to a gradation of sanctions, adapted to the severity and repeated nature of the breach:
5.1 Warning
For minor or good-faith breaches (e.g., forgotten advertising transparency mention). Written notification to the Affiliate's support, with a 15-day compliance period.
5.2 Temporary Suspension
For breaches suspected during investigation (e.g., unusual conversion spikes, cookie stuffing suspicion). The account and/or Affiliate Link are suspended for the duration of the investigation, maximum 30 days. Statement of reasons provided to the Affiliate (Article 17 DSA).
5.3 Commission Invalidation
For commissions relating to the breach, pronounced without notice when proof is documented. Unaffected by subsequent suspension or termination.
5.4 Clawback
For commissions already paid tainted by fraud or serious breach: restitution request within 30 days, increased by interest at ECB rate + 10 points (L.441-10 French Commercial Code applied by analogy). Reclaim right applicable for 24 months for ordinary breaches, extended to 5 years in case of manifest fraud (Article 2224 French Civil Code).
5.5 Immediate Termination
For serious breaches within the meaning of Section 2 (cookie stuffing, typosquatting, self-referral, fake reviews, spam, system infringement) or in case of repeated breaches despite warnings. Motivated notification on durable medium (DSA Art. 17). Prohibition to open a new account on the Platform.
5.6 Damages
Without prejudice to the above sanctions, the Merchant or Affilane may claim damages for the prejudice suffered (loss of diverted clients, investigation costs, damage to image), with supporting documents.
5.7 Reporting to Authorities
In case of a breach constituting a criminal offense (fraud, infringement, system attack), the Merchant or Affilane reserve the right to file a complaint with the competent authorities.
6. Contestation Procedure
6.1 Internal Mechanism
The Affiliate may contest any decision taken pursuant to this Code within 6 months following its notification.
The contestation is addressed:
- to the Merchant via their support, for Merchant decisions;
- to hello@affilane.com (subject "[Code of Conduct contestation]") for Affilane decisions.
The contestation is examined by an employee distinct from the author of the initial decision, in accordance with Article 20 of the P2B Regulation. A motivated response is provided within a maximum of 6 weeks.
6.2 Mediation
Failing agreement, the dispute may be submitted to mediation (CMAP or equivalent). Mediation is optional and does not deprive the Parties of the right to refer to the competent jurisdiction.
6.3 Jurisdiction
The competent jurisdiction is that defined in Article 12 of the main contract (Commercial Court of Paris for professional Affiliates; protective jurisdiction for Affiliates assimilated to consumers L.221-3).
7. Reporting by Third Parties
Merchants, competitors, third-party Affiliates, and consumers may report any behavior suspected of being contrary to this Code to:
- hello@affilane.com (subject: "[Fraud report]");
- the dedicated form at affilane.com/report.
Reports are examined in good faith and give rise to an investigation if the elements produced justify it. Malicious or abusive reports may themselves engage the liability of their author.
8. Code Evolution
Fliz and each Merchant may modify this Code to take into account new abusive practices, regulatory developments, or feedback. Any substantial modification is notified on durable medium with a minimum notice of 15 days before entry into force (P2B Art. 3.2 compatibility).
During this notice, the Affiliate may terminate without penalty. Continued activity constitutes acceptance of the new conditions.
9. Acceptance
Acceptance of this Code is materialized by:
- the ticking of a dedicated non-pre-ticked box upon registration to the Program, or
- explicit acceptance attached to the "Affiliate Marketing Program Agreement."
Fliz retains timestamped proof of this acceptance throughout the duration of the Program and five (5) years thereafter (Articles 1366-1367 French Civil Code).
10. Annexes
- No mandatory annex to this Code. The Merchant may attach sectoral clarifications (e.g., specific brand bidding rules for cosmetics, reinforced rules for financial services, sectoral prohibitions of the influencer law 2023-451).
Code of Conduct established in reference to:
- French Civil Code (1240, 1366-1367, 2224)
- French Criminal Code (226-4-1 identity theft, 313-1 fraud, 323-1 et seq. computer fraud, 441-1 forgery)
- French Consumer Code (L.121-1 to L.121-5 misleading commercial practices, L.121-4 27° and 28° fake reviews, L.132-2 sanctions, L.221-3 small professionals)
- French Commercial Code (L.441-10 late payment indemnity, L.442-1 restrictive practices)
- French Intellectual Property Code (L.713-2, L.713-3, L.716-9)
- French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (L.34-5 prospecting)
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR)
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (P2B Art. 3, 4, 11, 12, 20)
- Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA Art. 17 statement of reasons, Art. 20 internal complaints system)
- Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (Omnibus — fake reviews)
- French Law No. 2023-451 of June 9, 2023 as amended (influencers)
- French Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978 as amended (Data Protection Act, Art. 82)
- Case law: CJEU September 22, 2011 Interflora C-323/09 (brand bidding); Cass. com. January 29, 2013 Cobrason No. 11-21.011 and 11-24.713; CJEU March 23, 2010 Google France C-236/08 to C-238/08; TJ Paris October 9, 2024 Groupama (typosquatting); Cass. com. December 13, 2005 Locatour (typosquatting)