As a result of a “landmark” decision by the Committee of Advertising Practice (the UK body responsible for writing the advertising codes) the scope of the UK Advertising Standards Authority’s (the body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK) digital remit to regulate online advertising has been significantly extended.
The ASA’s current digital remit only applies to advertisements in e-mails and advertisements in paid-for space online (including, for example, banner and pop-up advertisement) and sales promotions in paid-for space and non-paid-for space online. However, as from 1 March 2011, the ASA will also regulate advertisers’ own marketing communications on their own websites and for other non-paid-for space online under their control (such as social networking sites used to target marketing communications at UK consumers).
The move is being justified on the basis of extending the ASA’s established principles of effective consumer protection and fair competition to the online world. According to ASA Chairman Lord Chris Smith “We have received over 4,500 complaints since 2008 about marketing communications on websites that we couldn’t deal with, but from 1 March anyone who has a concern about a marketing communication online will be able to turn to the ASA”.
Sanctions for breach of the new extended code will include the removal of paid-for search advertising and advertising paid for by the ASA to highlight an advertiser’s continued non-compliance. To fund the new remit, the industry has agreed to apply a 0.1% levy on paid-for advertising appearing on internet search engines through media and search agencies.
See here for full details of the decision. For the current versions of the UK broadcast and non-broadcast advertising codes.
