In order to effectively maintain fair competition, standardize and orderly market order, protect consumers’ legitimate rights and interests, and better create a good market environment for the healthy development of Internet advertising, the General Administration of Market Supervision recently promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising (hereinafter referred to as the Measures), which will come into effect on May 1. A few days ago, the responsible comrades of the Advertising Supervision Department of the General Administration of Market Supervision answered questions from reporters on issues related to the Measures.
Reporter: What is the background of the promulgation of the Measures?
A:In 2016, the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce formulated the Interim Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising (hereinafter referred to as the Interim Measures), which played a significant role in regulating Internet advertising activities and promoting the development of the Internet advertising industry. However, with the development of Internet technology and the innovation of advertising model, the Interim Measures has been difficult to adapt to the actual development of Internet advertising supervision and law enforcement and the Internet advertising industry, and it is urgent to revise it. First, laws such as the Advertising Law, the Electronic Commerce Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law have been revised one after another, which put forward new requirements and provided new legal basis for the supervision and enforcement of Internet advertising. Second, Internet advertising is constantly developing and changing in terms of advertising forms, business models and delivery methods, and its characteristics of diversity, pluralism and extensiveness are more obvious. The regulatory ideas and methods formed under the background of the great development of traditional e-commerce need to be adjusted. Third, with the rapid development of the Internet advertising industry, the subjects participating in Internet advertising activities are increasingly diverse, and it is urgent to further refine the legal responsibilities of the participants in various advertising activities and clarify the code of conduct in order to better maintain the order of the Internet advertising market. After extensive investigation, repeated argumentation and full solicitation of opinions, the General Administration of Market Supervision has comprehensively revised and improved the Interim Provisions, optimized and refined the Internet advertising behavior norms, which is conducive to strengthening the supervision and law enforcement of Internet advertising and promoting the sustained, rapid and healthy development of the Internet advertising industry.
Reporter: What is the significance of the Measures for promoting the development of the Internet advertising industry?
A:The General Secretary of the Supreme Leader clearly pointed out: "We must improve the digital economy governance system and improve laws, regulations and policy systems." Internet advertising industry is an important part of digital economy, which has been integrated into production, circulation, consumption and other links, and plays an important role in guiding consumption, expanding domestic demand and stimulating economic growth. The "Measures" adhere to the problem orientation, highlight operability, further clarify and refine the Internet advertising behavior norms, and focus on solving the practical problems that need to be solved urgently in the current Internet advertising supervision and law enforcement, which is conducive to enhancing the standardization, scientificity and effectiveness of Internet advertising supervision and law enforcement, giving play to the positive role of the Internet advertising industry in promoting socialist core values, creating a first-class business environment and creating a secure consumption environment, and will certainly provide new institutional guarantees for promoting the high-quality development of the Internet advertising industry.
Reporter: What specific measures are there in the Measures to address the Internet advertising problem that people have concentrated on?
A:The "Measures" further improve the system regulations and strive to create a "sword" for Internet advertising supervision in view of the current problem of concentrated consumer response. First, in view of the problem of "excessive and excessive pop-up advertisements", the Measures further refined the situation of "one-click closure", added the legal responsibility of advertisement publishers, and strengthened the punishment for illegal acts. Second, in view of the repeated pop-up advertisements of smart home appliances, navigation equipment, and intelligent transportation vehicles, which are concentrated by the masses, affecting the consumption experience and even traffic safety, the Measures clearly make corresponding regulations and actively respond to social concerns. Third, in view of the use of webcasting to publish Internet advertisements, the Measures clearly stipulate that if webcasting constitutes a commercial advertisement, the participants in the corresponding advertising activities shall bear the responsibilities and obligations of advertisers, advertising agents, advertising publishers and advertising spokespersons according to law. Fourth, in view of the false and illegal endorsements of well-known artists, entertainment stars and online celebrities, the Measures further refined the regulatory measures and added provisions on the jurisdiction of advertising spokespersons, laying a solid foundation for effectively regulating advertising endorsement activities. Fifth, in order to solve the problem of accurate delivery of Internet advertisements and "thousands of people", the Measures stipulate that if Internet advertisements are published by means of algorithmic recommendation, the relevant rules of algorithmic recommendation service and advertisement delivery records should be recorded in the advertisement files, so as to provide a basis for regulating such advertising behaviors.
Reporter: What are the new provisions of the Measures for related advertising business entities?
A:Advertising business entities are the main participants in Internet advertising activities, and standardizing the behaviors of all kinds of advertising participants, including advertising business entities, is an important basis for standardizing market order. On the basis of extensive investigation in the early stage, fully listening to the opinions of all parties and repeated argumentation, the Measures further optimize and refine the responsibilities of advertisers, Internet advertising operators and publishers, and Internet information service providers. The first is to refine the responsibility of advertisers. According to the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law, the responsibilities of advertisers are further clarified and refined, and special provisions are made on the responsibilities of advertisers in the case of self-publishing Internet advertisements. The second is to adjust the regulations on Internet advertisement publishers. According to the provisions of the Advertising Law and regulatory practice, the Measures take the publishing behavior as the criteria for determining the advertisement publisher, and no longer take whether the advertisement content can be checked and whether the advertisement is released as the judgment condition, so as to ensure that the definition of Internet advertisement publisher is consistent with traditional advertising media such as radio and television. The third is to further refine the responsibility of Internet platform operators. The Measures clarify that Internet platform operators who provide information services should fulfill the obligations of Internet information service providers such as recording and saving relevant information, actively discovering and deleting illegal advertisements, establishing a complaint acceptance mechanism, cooperating with advertising monitoring and Internet advertising industry investigation, and assisting in daily supervision. At the same time, the "Measures" also clarify that platform operators engaged in Internet advertising design, production, agency, publishing and other businesses, but also bear the obligations and responsibilities of advertising operators and publishers according to law.
Reporter: What plans does the General Administration have for implementing the Measures in the next step?
A:The Measures are an important criterion for regulating Internet advertising activities and an institutional guarantee for creating a good Internet advertising market environment. In the next step, the General Administration of Market Supervision will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress, take the promulgation of the Measures as an opportunity, and through studying, publicizing, implementing and implementing the Measures, let the whole system quickly understand and master the main contents of the Measures, promote grassroots advertising law enforcement personnel to improve their administrative level and legal literacy according to law, and achieve accurate understanding, correct implementation, fair supervision and service development. At the same time, market supervision departments at all levels will also vigorously carry out publicity, research, visits, assistance and training for all kinds of advertising participants, help all kinds of subjects know the law, understand the law, abide by the law and use it, enhance their awareness of legal compliance, and strive to create a good public opinion atmosphere and social environment, so as to promote the high-quality development of Internet advertising industry with efficient supervision.
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