Report Claims Children Need More Protection From Online Ads
A new report from the National Consumer Council (NCC) has called for children to be better protected from online ads on some of their favourite websites.
The Fair Game report found that lots of the websites popular with children are actually targeted at older age groups, which means that some of the ads children see are unsuitable.
The research also found that almost a quarter of adverts are integrated into content and nearly three-quarters of these are not labelled as ads, making it hard for many young children (and adults) to tell what is an ad.
Dr Agnes Nairn, an expert in the field of children and marketing, said: “Our concern is that parents are not aware of the pervasive and often covert format and content of some advertising found on sites popular with children.
“Children are quite savvy in this area, but in many cases children cannot distinguish content from commerce and so can’t really make informed choices.”
The research found that some advertisers encourage children to give away their friends’ contact details or send information to a friend in return for free offers.
Many of the children also admitted to lying about their age online. They said that they felt that age stipulations were for guidance, rather than a legal requirement.
The website research looked at 40 sites that were known to be popular with children. The extent and nature of commercial activity was examined on each site. A questionnaire was drawn up and applied to each site during the first quarter of 2007 and detailed results were recorded. Further examination of each site was also carried out, said the NCC.
Responding to the report, Baroness Peta Buscombe, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “The advertising industry is acutely aware of the importance of safe, responsible standards in advertising online. To that end the Advertising Association Digital Media Group was established by industry earlier this year.
“The group represents a cross section of industry practitioners, who are currently drafting proposals to future proof standards through the self regulation of online advertising.
“Through the Digital Media Group and other initiatives the advertising industry is taking a proactive and responsible stance to uphold the future standards of advertising online. This is the most appropriate forum for industry to develop a constructive and workable way forward.”
National Consumer Council: www.ncc.org.uk