GPSR for Publishers: Why Even Magazines Need an EU Responsible Person

Every now and then, compliance delivers a moment so absurd you couldn’t script it.

Recently, we received an email from a reader in the UK who had opened a perfectly ordinary TV magazine and noticed a small but serious-looking notice buried in the fine print: “GPSR EU RP (For authorities only)”

This immediately raised a number of reasonable questions:

• Why does a UK-printed magazine carry an EU safety notice?
• Why is an EU contact address mentioned at all?
• Didn’t the UK leave the EU specifically to stop this kind of thing?
• And perhaps most importantly: Why is anyone concerned about the health and safety of a TV magazine?

The reader then did what any responsible citizen might do — a safety assessment.

• Hazard 1: When the magazine is placed on a carpet next to a sofa, it can easily become a slipping hazard, particularly for anyone wearing slippers.
• Hazard 2: The magazine contains metal staples, which can cause cuts if not perfectly pressed flat.

Conclusion: the magazine is cLeArLy UnSaFe  - and therefore the notice must be ridiculous. The reader reasonably wondered why an “EU requirement” would apply to a magazine sold only in the UK, and why authorities would care so much about the safety of a printed TV guide.

All fair points. The short, unexciting explanation is this:

Some UK publishers still place products on the Northern Ireland market. Once a product reaches that market, EU product safety law applies — even if the product is also sold elsewhere in the UK.

The longer explanation is where things get interesting.

EU product safety rules don’t only cover obvious hazards like toys or electronics. They also address chemical safety — inks, dyes, paper pulp, coatings, and other substances most people never consider while reading a magazine on the couch. Printed products have been tested and recalled in the past due to chemical risks.

Yes — even books and magazines can have technical files.

Is this overregulation? Often, yes.  Is it well-intentioned? Also yes.  Does it feel excessive when applied to low-risk products like magazines? Absolutely.

The email perfectly captured what many businesses and consumers feel when confronted with modern compliance rules: common sense seems to have left the room, while documentation stayed and multiplied.

Unfortunately, everyone else lives under the same rules.

So if you ever wonder why your harmless product suddenly needs an EU Responsible Person, a risk assessment, and a statement explaining that it probably won’t injure anyone — you’re not alone.

And if you trip over your magazine while wearing slippers… At least the hazard has now been formally identified.