EU Study Backs Opposition To Ban On Advertising To Children

The advertising industry’s opposition to EU restrictions on advertising to children has gained support with the publication of an EU study on “The Impact Of Advertising And Teleshopping On Minors” which positively endorses self-regulation working in tandem with the existing laws.

The main conclusions of the study were that the EU’s “Television Without Frontiers” directive provides the most adequate, effective and flexible framework for protecting children; that TV is more stringently regulated than other media and that self-regulation would complement the existing framework of law, taking into account the cultures and traditions of individual member states. It also concluded that consumer complaints about advertising to children are extremely low.

Sara Soltani, director of the Children’s Programme, an organisation made up of advertising industry associations and companies which aims to produce and spread rational arguments regarding the issue of advertising to children, commented that the report “contributes a great deal to the current debate on advertising and children”. she went on to point out that the study “reinforces the view that a ban on advertising is neither necessary nor proportional to the perceived problem.”

The study was commissioned by the EU directorate-general for Education and Culture. Three further studies are to be carried out this year, in preparation for the revision of the Television Without Frontiers Directive.

The Children’s Programme: 020 7828 2771 www.childrensprogramme.org

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