§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure that advertising standards to protect consumers are applied to internet retailing on the same basis as they are to other forms of retail business. [138842]
§ Dr. HowellsThe 1988 Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations and the 1968 Trade Descriptions Act already apply to internet advertising in the same way that they apply to other forms of advertising. It is therefore illegal to apply a false or misleading description to goods or services advertised on 107W the internet and the Director General of Fair Trading can seek an injunction to prevent the continued publication of a misleading advertisement on the internet. The Advertising Standards Authority is also able to rule on complaints about internet advertisements, and the Committee of Advertising Practice—the industry body which writes the British Codes of Advertising Practice and Sales Promotion—recently launched its admark scheme which will enable browsers to identify advertisements placed by advertisers who have agreed to comply with the Codes of Practice and to be bound by the ASA' s rulings.