Canada and the Regulation of Advertising

Peter Neufeld, York University, Osgoode Hall Law School, has published Undermining Parental Authority, Unethical Advertising and the Accountability of Self-Regulation: ThomasCook.ca as a Fable. Here is the abstract.

This paper demonstrates the shortcomings of Advertising Standards Canada, the Canadian self-regulatory body overseeing advertising to children. It uses a case study initiated by a complaint regarding a parental undermining advertisement. Advertising Standards Canada failure to address this complaint illustrate the greater need for Canada to move away from self-regulation in children advertising to a less de-centralized regulatory regime. This move is increasingly important due to the unprecedented rise in electronic marketing and its ability to use stealth advertising and collect information from its child consumers.

Download the paper from SSRN at the link.