Co-regulation of commercial communications with the aim of protecting minors
The establishment of a co-regulatory principle in the domain of commercial communications with the aim of protecting minors is a requirement for our society, concluded the participants of the round table Principles of Co-regulation of Commercial Communications in the Light of Protection of Minors, organised by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media, in cooperation with the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade.
The goal of the round table was to initiate a discussion about setting specific business rules regarding inappropriate advertising of food or beverages which contain high levels of fat, trans-fatty acids, salt/sodium or sugar, between the Regulator and industry.
The round table was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, media service providers and public broadcasters, associations of marketing agencies, civil sector organisations and other professional associations.
Representatives of the Regulator presented potential ways of introducing co-regulatory principles, the current legal and regulatory framework pertaining to commercial communications, which allows the establishment of co-regulation in this field, as well as the novelties brought by the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2018) in the field of commercial communications.
Finally, the protection of minors in the digital environment relating to harmful content of commercial communications was also discussed.
The round table was organised as a continuation of the previous activity – the workshop on new rules about commercial communications within the project Protection of Freedom of Expression and Media in Serbia (PROFREX), which is part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkiye 2023-2026.
