Guest comment: A watchdog for the digital world

In a speech to the Equal Opportunities Commission in 2007, Gordon Brown said “advances in technology… expose children increasingly to the pressures of very aggressive advertising.”

That neatly summarises some of the concerns that exist around digital media: how do we protect consumers, particularly children, from misleading, offending and harmful material in this fast-moving environment?

Tellingly, the Government’s views on how best to regulate advertising in a digital world point to self-governance.  Andy Burnham, former Culture Secretary, speaking to the Internet Advertising Bureau, said “There has to be responsibility… there has to be transparency… Above all we look to the industry to act responsibly, in its own interests.”  Importantly, he indicated that the Government wants to avoid “the sort of situation that risks cumbersome and unenforceable legislation.”

So what is being done to protect consumers and business in this area and how can self-regulation address the challenges posed by advertising in digital media?

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has seen a 300% growth in complaints about Internet advertising in the last five years.  The Internet now sits second, behind TV, as the most complained about advertising medium. We received 3,571 complaints last year.  Yet around 70% of those complaints fell outside our remit, primarily because they related to the content of companies’ own websites.

The ASA’s remit already covers some advertising in digital media as the Advertising Code applies to display ads, paid-search, virals and sales promotions wherever they appear.

The system can work online.  The ASA’s Digital Media Survey 2008 looked at 551 digital ads that were in remit and revealed a 97% compliance rate. So, where marketing activity is subject to the ASA’s scrutiny, the rules are, by and large, adhered to.

But we clearly cannot ignore the regulatory gap.  We know from research we have undertaken and our complaints’ post-bag that consumers do not differentiate between marketing communications on companies’ own websites and advertising they see in traditional media such as newspapers and posters.  They expect these to be legal, decent, honest and truthful wherever they appear.  They are prepared to allow some latitude when it comes to matters of offence, so long as it’s not too unexpected; after all, they’ve knowingly visited the site.  But when it comes to misleadingness, they expect the same high standards that apply everywhere else.  That’s what they tell us in their complaints.  And, unsurprisingly, they’re not that impressed when we tell them that the content on websites is not covered by the Advertising Code.

But there are pressures from other quarters too.  Representatives of civil society, for example, NGOs and single-issue pressure groups, are quick to point to the limited remit of the Advertising Code on the Internet as a major flaw in self-regulation.  There’s also an expectation at the European level that the advertising industry will demonstrate its commitment to applying effective self-regulation to all media platforms, including digital media.  The European Advertising Standards Alliance, the umbrella body for European self-regulation, has outlined in its ‘Digital Marketing Communications Best Practice’ guide that it wants its members to have extended their digital remit by 2010.

A great deal of work is being done behind the scenes to tackle the issue in the UK. The advertising industry, led by the Advertising Association’s Digital Media Group, is at an advanced stage of discussions about a framework for self-regulation’s extension into digital media. It is undoubtedly a significant challenge. 

How do we decide on jurisdiction when the Internet and mobile can appear to be borderless?  How do we separate advertising from editorial material?  How do we fund the resources needed to handle 2,500+ complaints, not to mention additional compliance work, pre-publication copy advice and other regulatory support?  Finally, how will the ASA enforce its decisions against website advertisers who refuse to comply - surely there’s no media middle man to deny space, as happens in other advertising we regulate? These challenges are not easy.  But nor are they impossible. 

The ASA stands ready and willing to play our part at the conclusion of the current industry discussions.  As technologies advance and new advertising media emerge, so the importance of ensuring they adhere to the same principles that other advertisers follow becomes paramount. 

The old arguments in favour of self-regulation still apply.  However complex digital media appear to be, trusted advertising is more effective advertising.  That bit of it, at least, really is straight-forward.

By Guy Parker

Chief Executive

ASA

www.asa.org.uk/asa