Advertising in Video Games: Legal Qualifications

Abstract

The article is addressed to the legal analysis of advertising placed in video games. Topical issues of the concept of advertising are touched upon from the point of view of its compliance with the legal definition enshrined in the Federal Law "On Advertising". There has been analized the distribution of advertising in video games, such as ads embedded in game content, including "product placement". In Russian legislation, there is an analogue of this
 category which is defined by the legislator as “references to a product, means of its individualization, about a manufacturer or seller of a product, which are organically integrated into works of science, literature or art”. The conclusion is made about the possibility of qualifying this technique as an advertisement in the absence of a sign of "organic integration". The examples of judicial and law enforcement practice of inorganic integration are considered. In such cases, the disseminated information is recognized as advertising, in respect of which the requirements of advertising legislation regarding restrictions on advertising of tobacco and alcohol, weapons and a number of other goods must be observed. There are special requirements for video games for minors in order to protect their rights. The author presents the position regarding the qualification of targeted advertising from the point of view of its compliance with such a sign of advertising as being addressed to an indefinite group of people. The conclusion is supported by the argument that personalization of an advertising message does not exclude its qualification as an advertisement. The problem of advertising distribution in computer games, including multiplayer games, carried out via the Internet, where obtaining the preliminary consent of the online game user to receive advertising is achieved by including this condition in the user agreement, is investigated. The conclusion is made about the need to improve legal regulation in the studied field.