Decent, legal, honest and searchable: C'mon, Ofcom. Let us check up on the ad-slingers ourselves

Our favourite controller of UK media, Ofcom, is being given new powers to regulate the internet. Or censor it, depending on your preferred spin. It's all a bit fuzzy at the moment: with illegal content, the regulator will watch for the usual monsters of terrorism and child abuse and act swiftly to close them down and keep them …

[Anonymous Coward]

Putin a ban on political advertising?

"In terms of social damage, little has as much dark potential as political advertising, especially targeted political advertising paid for by dark horses which have never even seen the inside of a stable. It can destroy a country."

It's already on it's way to destroying this country...

[Kevin Johnston]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

Sadly, with no country specified that has a very high chance of being seen as an accurate local statement wherever in the world you are reading this from

[Justin Case]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

I've never seen a political advert that has swayed me or made me change my stance. I'd be interested to see firm evidence, beyond the mere anecdotal, for such a sweeping statement asserted with such confidence.

[Richard 12]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

I have seen a great many people who decided to vote for (or against) that "bloke off the telly".

And the surveys done of those who voted that ask for reasons almost always mention one or more things that were not in the manifesto, but did appear in adverts.

Well done for not being human, but most people are.

[Glen 1]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

Its not the adverts that are the problem, its the click baity lies that pander to our preconceived prejudices. Probably attached to a no-name domain or spoofing a more reputable news site.

If they are transmitting stuff that resonates with your personal echo chamber, you take them in unchallenged. Further entrenching your opinion with the fantasy that *your* echo chamber is devoid of faults.

Then we all criticise the *other* side(s) for *their* lack of critical thinking.

[robidy]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

Your comment neatly sums up the problem.

Most people don't spot it happening to them until it's too late.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

I've never seen a political advert that has swayed me or made me change my stance. I'd be interested to see firm evidence, beyond the mere anecdotal, for such a sweeping statement asserted with such confidence.

There is plenty of evidence. For instance, you could start with these two academic papers.

https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/spenkuch/research/advertising.pdf

http://www.bowdoin.edu/~mfranz/final_published_FranzRidout.pdf

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

It won't be a big advert that says "Vote xyz, you'll be better off" and therefore you change and vote xyz.

It will be based on "game theory" and "Nudge Theory" and will find its way to you by other means - this may just be a friend of a friend saw an advert which then gave them a compelling case to let their friends know their views which then got relayed back to you through a conversation in a pub that made you rethink the reason that you were going to vote abc.

[robidy]

Re: Putin a ban on political advertising?

You post says more about you lack of understanding than of the topic being discussed.

[Crisp]

Toothless regulators

Unless Ofcom has the authority and the means to enforce its will, I don't really see how much this will change anything.

By the time the ASA have gotten around to shifting their arse pretty much all they ever say is "The ad must not appear again in its current form" which does absolutely nothing to stop dishonest advertisers.

[Roger Greenwood]

Re: Toothless regulators

I think that's what he said:- "..politely pushing them shut".

Excellent article, thank you.

[Alan Brown]

Re: Toothless regulators

"By the time the ASA have gotten around to shifting their arse"

The ASA is a "Industry trade association" - formed in the face of the government threatening to step in and regulate

It's not a regulator and only exists to pretend to do anything.

[davenewman]

Re: Toothless regulators

Although I do like the way they have called out Government advertisements for not being truthful. The Dept. responsible claimed the adverts had been checked by Clear Channel - but they only check that it is legal and decent. They don't judge whether it is honest and truthful.

[335/113]

Re: Truthfullness vs Honesty

Only an indicative statement can be true. Whether or not it is true depends on the meaning of the words in it, like eg "send". An exhortation isn't the kind of thing that can be true or false, or a lie. Maybe it can be dishonest (as in dishonest intentions), but that's at least as tricky to verify, as what it means.

[Anonymous Coward]

Insist that large online advertisers prove their identity

Ofcom should insist that online ads can not be shown unless Facebook etc has verified identity of advertiser and agrees legal responsibility for fraud etc. If the person is overseas then Facebook etc should have to pay compensation for frauds etc

[jonathan keith]

Re: Insist that large online advertisers prove their identity

But then Facebook might be considered to be a publisher. And that's a whole other XL-sized can of worms (from their point of view).

[Richard 12]

Re: Insist that large online advertisers prove their identity

They absolutely definitely are a publisher of adverts.

Their systems decide which ones to show, and they're paid to show them. Definitely publishing, no possible argument for anything else.

And that's before they add the layer where they also decide who to show each advert to.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Insist that large online advertisers prove their identity

But in the US they have freedom of money laws that mean that if they say they are not a publisher despite publishing things, the courts have to believe it.

[robidy]

Re: Insist that large online advertisers prove their identity

I'm thinking that should be the case for all funded media, whose the source of the pound of flesh?

A question I have "Is there any time when you would need the source of funding for adverts/media/content witheld?"

I appreciate it wanders into a wider money laundering/prinacy/corruption arena.

[Pascal Monett]

An online, searchable ad broker activity database

I'm all for it.

And, while we're at it, let's set up an online database for tracking who is paying lobbying which elected official.

[jonathan keith]

Re: An online, searchable ad broker activity database

For the UK, MPs and all local councillors must (supposedly) declare such details in the relevant Register of Interests, which are available online at the parliament.uk website or the local council's website.

Probably as good as it's ever going to get.

[Alan Brown]

Re: An online, searchable ad broker activity database

"MPs and all local councillors must (supposedly) declare such details in the relevant Register of Interests"

Except that they don't - the adverts on Facebook, etc mostly haven't been declared

[davenewman]

Re: An online, searchable ad broker activity database

Except during election campaigns, when advertising is included in the election expenses return.

You can book a time to examine election expenses returns at the local council.

[Alan Brown]

Not just pollitical

"The ASA doesn't regulate political ads"

It also refuses to regulate adverts put out by local authorities - even when blatently misleading or containing false statements

[Rol]

Keep it subtle

I remember coming out of Best Easton Kebab on Stapleton Road. I'd just sank my teeth into one of their sumptuous offerings, with perfectly cooked lamb marinaded in the most exquisite of sauces and dripping with flavour, when I saw a double decker bus with "£350 million to the NHS" plastered across the side and I thought. "Mmm. This kebab tastes nice"

btw. Totally made up kebab shop name.

[Rol]

Re: Keep it subtle

OW! My foot! It's too late to go out and get a kebab, and despite living in one of the most cosmopolitan areas of Bristol, it's impossible to get a breakfast kebab.

I'll be dreaming about kebabs all night with no chance of sating that desire when I wake.

I never knew how painful shooting oneself in the foot could be.

[dieseltaylor]

And the surveys

An excellent idea to commence the throttling of lies. I have always thought that surveys should be publicly available - that is the questions etc and full results - to see dishonest or seriously flawed design.

For decades I answered Which? surveys and the poor design was concerning. For instance the reliability of machines used in gardens .(or Hoover's) never asked frequency of use or size of task.

I have little faith in any survey now realising that unless you can see how it was constructed it may well be simply media filler fodder.

[Sirius Lee]

The problem with good ideas...

Is they are sometimes promoted by zealots who lose perspective and I wonder if this has happened in the article.

"Who buys, who sells, who reads, what it is, when it was out there"

Who reads? The article's author is advocating a governmental agency should be monitoring, recording, and in the author's ideal view, making searchable what recipients read? So much for privacy and GDPR. Imagine how much of a gold mine that will be for hackers.

As for political advertising: leave it alone. It might be a swamp but in my view better an unregulated swamp than giving some group of mandarins or even worse corporations veto over what our would-be elected representatives want to tell us. If there are crimes committed during a campaign, let the criminal justice system do its work after the event. If your concern is that the criminal justice system cannot or will not do its job, there is a much bigger problem to tackle than adverts you believe are in someway wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

But clever people won't pay for the transaction of displaying their view, whether in an advert or an advertorial. The biggest influences come from lobbying (which is only partially visible) and press releases, research papers, comment sections all packaged up nicely by the supplier to make a great story and push their point of view and influence people.

See in the past the great meat vs sugar industry

See in the present the number of anti-electric vehicle articles claiming that EVs are more polluting than ICE ...