All Articles in Regulatory
ASA investigates Opodo flight prices
Online travel agent Opodo quoted prices for flights that included a pre-applied discount which was only available using pre-pay Visa card Entropay. Was this misleading? Jude King reports.
CMA probes cloud consumer services
Cloud storage is used by growing numbers of UK consumers to store photographs, music and documents. Following complaints, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into whether service providers are in breach of consumer laws. Ben Dunham investigates.
EU data protection law reforms in twenty bullets
Following the surprise, pre-Christmas announcement that EU data protection reforms were at last close to being finalised, what are twenty of the most important changes? Stephen Groom summarises.
Did US-style native ad disclosures work for Dylon ad on BuzzFeed?
“14 Laundry Fails we’ve all experienced” was the headline, then appeared “Brand Publisher” and a Dylon logo, but the style was of a BuzzFeed editorial. Was the ad obviously identifiable as such? Stephen Groom reports on the ASA decision.
Was Heathrow Express really every 15 minutes?
“Heathrow to Central London in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes” said the Heathrow Express website. The advertiser said this was their “core message.” But was it misleading? Chloe Deng reports on the ASA finding after a complaint was received.
Daily Telegraph fined £30,000 over election email
On the day of the 2015 UK general election Telegraph Media Group emailed a letter to thousands of recipients which urged recipients to vote Conservative. Seventeen recipients complained, but didn’t “soft opt-in” come to the broadsheet publisher’s rescue? George Garrard reports.
“Was Winning Moments” winner properly selected?
Website winningmomentsonline offered tickets for a theatre-themed hen party as prizes in a promotion. The ASA received a complaint that the winners had in fact been selected at random by the promoter’s employees. Was this a problem? Daisy Jones reports.
Ads suggesting Mexican soda was made from apples cause furore
Mexicans love sugary soda drinks. One soda, Sidral Mundet, contains 60 grams of sugar per 600 gram bottle, but it was the apple content that came to the fore in complaints over Coca Cola’s ads for it. Chloe Dumoulin-Richet reports.
Boots defends “Cold & Flu Defence” ad
Was the advertised nasal spray “clinically proven to defend against cold and flu” as claimed on a tube train poster? And did “defend against” mean “prevent” or have a more nuanced meaning? Daisy Jones reports on the ASA ruling.
FCA to examine big data and insurance
Pricing and risk profiling are just two of the areas potentially impacted by use of big data in connection with retail general insurance products such as motor and home insurance. Georgina Graham reports on the Financial Conduct Authority’s new investigation.
ASA activates Prioritisation Principles
They were trailed in February 2015 and now, under the headline “Tackling the issues that matter the most,” the UK’s main advertising regulator has announced their introduction. What exactly are they and what are their practical impacts? Jude King explains.
