Mapping and analysis of the current self- and co- regulatory framework of commercial communication aimed at minors

As the advertising sector has been very active in self-regulating commercial communication aimed at children, a patchwork of different rules and instruments exist, drafted by different self-regulatory organisations at international, European and national level. In order to determine the scope and contents of these rules, and hence, the actual level of protection of children, a structured mapping of these rules is needed. As such, this report aims to provide an overview of different categories of Alternative Regulatory Instruments(ARIs,such as self- and co-regulation regarding (new) advertising formats aimed at children. This report complements the first legal AdLit research report, which provided an overview of the legislative provisions in this domain.status: publishe

Regulating advertising aimed at children in the digital era: too little, too late or too much, too soon?

Advertising has always been regulated to a certain extent, either through legislation or alternative regulatory instruments, such as self- and/or co-regulation. The protection of vulnerable viewers or media users, of which children and teenagers are a prime example, is one of the rationales which usually inspires such regulation. Traditionally, and certainly with regard to legislation, rules (may) differ according to the medium through which advertising is communicated. However, as advertising strategies increasingly include cross-media campaigns, the use of converged technologies and hybrid formats which blur the lines between commercial and editorial content, questions are raised as to the applicability of the current legislative framework. The same ad which is aimed at minors on television may be subject to other rules when it is distributed on an online platform such as YouTube. An advergame which goes viral through a social network may fall within the scope of different laws in various law domains, depending on its format and content. This paper will provide an overview of current existing legal obligations at the European Union level in three main fields: audiovisual media services, electronic commerce and consumer protection. The relevant provisions of the applicable regulatory instruments will be identified, and described. In a second part a critical assessment will be made of the applicability of these instruments to converging, digital advertising formats. Gaps as well as possible overlap will be exposed, in order to evaluate to what extent the policy goal of protecting children is realized today with regard to these formats

Targeting children with personalised advertising : how to reconcile the (best) interests of children and advertisers

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Integrative advertising : the marketing 'dark side' or merely the emperor's new clothes?

This paper assesses the move towards more 'integrative advertising' methods which rely on the mixing of commercial and non-commercial content, and the suitability of the current EU legislative framework to deal with such developments. In essence, the paper examines the 'identification' and 'transparency' principles in the context of online advertising. This analysis allows for the drawing of conclusions vis-à-vis future policy initiatives and enforcement challenges. The paper states that for true advertising literacy mere identification of commercial communications is insufficient and that efforts need to be made in order to educate consumers (especially children) to allow for the continuing relevance and reliance on the notion of the average consumer

Why EU authorities are taking a closer look at Facebook’s privacy practices

On 13 May 2015, the Belgian Privacy Commission issued a recommendation as part of an ongoing investigation into Facebook’s privacy practices. Brendan Van Alsenoy and Valerie Verdoodt describe why Facebook is facing increased regulatory scrutiny and summarize the highlights of the recent recommendation

Children’s rights and advertising literacy in the digital era : towards an empowering regulatory framework for commercial communication

On a daily basis, children are exposed to a broad variety of new digital advertising techniques. These new forms of commercial communication have specific features (i.e. immersive, interactive, personalised) that make them particularly appealing to children, but also raise concerns as children often do not recognise or understand the persuasive intent of these new forms. Accordingly, these new forms raise significant legal and ethical questions from a children's rights perspective (e.g. their right to development, privacy and data protection, participation). However, currently a wide array of provisions regulates commercial communication aimed at children, across various channels. The research starts from the observation that the regulatory framework is fragmented into both legislative and alternative regulatory instruments (i.e. self- and co-regulation) and takes as its working hypothesis that this potentially may lead to gaps or overlaps such as inter alia a lack of clear and uniform definitions and even contradicting rules, which in turn may have a negative impact on children's development and advertising literacy. Therefore, the project questions what substantive and procedural elements a regulatory framework on commercial communication needs for children to be educated and empowered to cope with commercial communication (i.e. ad literate), so that they can grow up to be critical, informed consumers who make their own conscious choices in today's new media environment.status: publishe

The General Data Protection Regulation and children’s rights: questions and answers for legislators, DPAs, industry, education, stakeholders and civil society. Roundtable Report.

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A Children’s Rights Perspective on Self-Regulation of New Advertising Formats

New advertising formats such as behavioural advertising, for which children’s personal data are processed, or advergames, which integrate editorial and commercial content, may have a significant impact on children’s rights, including their fundamental right to privacy, access to (high-quality) information, freedom of expression, protection against information and material injurious to their well-being and protection from economic exploitation (United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNCRC). It has been emphasised in Unicef’s Children’s rights and Business Principles (2012) that companies must ensure that communications and marketing do not have an adverse impact on children’s rights. In the advertising sector, self-regulation has traditionally played an important (complementary) role.The International Chamber of Commerce has drafted a Code Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice (Consolidated ICC Code), and in many countries self-regulatory bodies observe compliance with the principles of this Code. The added value of a self-regula‑ tory framework lies in its flexibility and adaptability (to technological change), a higher degree of expertise and a relatively low cost. However, at the same time, self-regulatory mechanisms have been considered to suffer from low levels of transparency and accountability and the fact that private interests are put before the public interest. Moreover, the degree of legal certainty is sometimes low, resulting in a decrease in democratic quality of regulation. Considering these drawbacks of self-regulation, this article questions whether something as fundamental as children’s rights should be safeguarded by self-regulation to such a significant extent. First, the paper will assess the applicability of the current self-regulatory framework to new, digital advertising formats.The ICC Code will be examined, as well as the national self-regulatory frameworks of the United Kingdom and Belgium. Second, this self-regulatory framework will be assessed from a children’s rights perspective, evaluating the degree of protection and participation, and compliance with essential prin‑ ciples such as accountability and transparency. This analysis will take into account the UNCRC and general comments of the Children’s Rights Committee, case-law, as well as scholarly literature, both with regard to children’s rights and (characteristics of) self-regulation. Attention will also be paid to the fine line between persuasion and manipulation of new advertising formats, and the impact the effects thereof may have on children’s rights