Industry Self-regulation Research Articles

Sweet promises: Candy advertising to children and implications for industry self-regulation

Candy advertising illustrates limitations of the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) self-regulatory program to improve food marketing to children. Participating companies pledge to not advertise candy in child-directed media. Yet independent analyses show that children viewed 65% more candy ads on U.S. television in 2011 than in 2007, before CFBAI implementation. The present research corroborates these findings, characterizes the increase, and examines how CFBAI-participating and non-participating companies use child-targeted techniques and media placement to advertise candy on U.S. television. Content analysis identified child-targeted messages and techniques in 2011 television candy ads, and Nielsen data (2008–2011) quantified candy advertising viewed on children's and other types of television programming. Differences between brands according to CFBAI status and use of child-targeted techniques in ads are evaluated. Data were obtained and analyzed in 2013. CFBAI-company non-approved brands represented 65% of candy ads viewed by children in 2011, up from 45% in 2008, and 77% of these ads contained child-targeted techniques. Although CFBAI companies only placed ads for approved brands on children's networks, 31% of ads viewed by children for CFBAI non-approved brands appeared on networks with higher-than-average youth audiences. CFBAI non-participating companies placed child-targeted candy ads primarily on children's networks. Despite CFBAI pledges, companies continue to advertise candy during programming with large youth audiences utilizing techniques that appeal to children. Both increased CFBAI participation and a more effective definition of “child-directed advertising” are required to reduce children's exposure to targeted advertising for foods that can harm their health.

Top Level Results of a Study of Czech Households?? Awareness of the Food Advertising Industrys Self-Regulation Related to Children

This paper is primarily focused on analyses of the research undertaken to understand the awareness of food advertisings self-regulation authority (Council for Advertising) and of the Czech Code of Conduct in the context of the growing issue of child obesity. The objective is to find out the perception of food advertising to children and awareness of regulation and industry self-regulation amongst Czech mothers. Our theoretical framework presumes dependence between the awareness levels and selected demographic variables. We conclude several actions to overcome low awareness of the Council of Advertising and its Code of Conduct and to transfer the industrys self-regulation into an efficient and recognized tool of shaping the culture of responsible advertising in the Czech Republic. The conclusions lead towards stronger protection of children.

What Impedes Oil and Gas Companies’ Transparency?

Transparency advocates argue that disclosure of oil and gas company payments to host governments for natural resources is a public good, helping to reduce corruption and increase accountability in resource rich countries. Yet we find a very low frequency of voluntary disclosures of payments to host governments by oil and gas firms, and negative stock price reactions for affected firms at the announcement of regulations mandating disclosure. This suggests that sample firm managers and their investors perceive that there are private costs of such voluntary disclosures, contributing to continued low transparency and weak governance in resource rich countries. However, we document that industry self-regulation has generated information to substitute for the gap in voluntary company disclosure. We also find some evidence that these disclosures are accompanied by lower country corruption ratings, suggesting that collective action may be an effective way for the industry to manage the private costs of disclosure and respond to public pressure to improve governance in resource rich countries.

Top Level Results of a Study of Czech Households' Awareness of the Food Advertising Industry's Self-Regulation Related to Children

This paper is primarily focused on analyses of the research undertaken to understand the awareness of food advertising’s self-regulation authority (Council for Advertising) and of the Czech Code of Conduct in the context of the growing issue of child obesity. The objective is to find out the perception of food advertising to children and awareness of regulation and industry self-regulation amongst Czech mothers. Our theoretical framework presumes dependence between the awareness levels and selected demographic variables. We conclude several actions to overcome low awareness of the Council of Advertising and its Code of Conduct and to transfer the industry’s self-regulation into an efficient and recognized tool of shaping the culture of responsible advertising in the Czech Republic. The conclusions lead towards stronger protection of children.

Fault-y Reasoning

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) hold great promise to improve personal and commercial travel, but intelligently linking vehicles and travelers via increasingly interconnected real-time data systems creates a host of new and largely untested liability questions when things go wrong. In this article, we examine current policies, laws, and administrative codes guiding ITS liability by reviewing the scholarly literature and case law in the United States. We find (a) a patchwork of industry self-regulation, (b) a modicum of tort case law precedent that varies substantially across states, (c) many unresolved questions, and (d) little prospect of guiding federal legislation on the horizon. While the liability questions raised by driverless cars have received much attention, we conclude that ITS liability standards are likely to be settled incrementally in the near term on decidedly narrow grounds via case law on navigation and collision-avoidance systems, long before fully automated vehicles are deployed.

Industry Self Regulation of Data Privacy and Security

Industry self-regulation of consumer data privacy and security has been proposed as a flexible alternative and compliment to traditional government regulation. This study analyzes whether different types of existing industry-led standards improve online privacy and security. The paper examines which types of firms join voluntary standards and whether there is a difference in outcomes between trade association memberships (like the Digital Advertising Alliance) and certification programs (like TRUSTe). Results suggest that more trafficked websites are more likely to adopt standards, and that trade association membership does not have an effect on privacy and security performance. There is some evidence that paid certification can hurt subsequent privacy and security. This study also compares website privacy measures and highlights the need for a valid privacy metric.

Cracks in the “Regulatory State”

Over the last 30 years, the U.S. states has retreated from its regulatory responsibility over private-sector economic activities. Over the same period, a celebratory literature, mostly in political science, has developed, characterizing the current period as the rise of the regulatory state or regulatory capitalism. The notion of regulation in this literature, however, is a perverse one—one in which regulators mostly advise rather than direct, and industry and firm self-regulation is the norm. As a result, new and potentially dangerous technologies such as fracking or mortgage backed derivatives are left unregulated, and older necessary regulations such as prohibitions are weakened. This article provides a joint criticism of the celebratory literature and the deregulation reality, and strongly advocates for a new sociology of regulation that both recognizes and documents these failures.

Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Food Marketing to Children.

Concern has grown about the role of televised food advertising as a contributor to childhood obesity. In response, the food industry adopted a program of self-regulation, with participating companies pledging to limit child-targeted advertising to healthier products. The implicit promise of the industry initiative is a significant improvement in the overall nutritional quality of foods marketed to children, thereby negating the need for governmental regulation to accomplish that objective. This study assesses the efficacy of industry self-regulation by comparing advertising content on children's TV programs before and after self-regulation was implemented. A systematic content analysis of food advertisements (n=625 in 2007, n=354 in 2013) appearing in children's TV programs on the most popular cable and broadcast channels was conducted. All analyses were conducted in 2014. Findings indicated that no significant improvement in the overall nutritional quality of foods marketed to children has been achieved since industry self-regulation was adopted. In 2013, 80.5% of all foods advertised to children on TV were for products in the poorest nutritional category, and thus pose high risk for contributing to obesity. The lack of significant improvement in the nutritional quality of food marketed to children is likely a result of the weak nutritional standards for defining healthy foods employed by industry, and because a substantial proportion of child-oriented food marketers do not participate in self-regulation. The lack of success achieved by self-regulation indicates that other policy actions are needed to effectively reduce children's exposure to obesogenic food advertising.

Children's recall of fast food television advertising-testing the adequacy of food marketing regulation.

Background and AimIn the United States, the fast food companies McDonald’s and Burger King participate in marketing self-regulation programs that aim to limit emphasis on premiums and promote emphasis of healthy food choices. We determine what children recall from fast food television advertisements aired by these companies.MethodsOne hundred children aged 3–7 years were shown McDonald’s and Burger King children’s (MDC & BKC) and adult (MDA & BKA) meal ads, randomly drawn from ads that aired on national US television from 2010–11. Immediately after seeing the ad, children were asked to recall what they had seen and transcripts evaluated for descriptors of food, healthy food (apples or milk), and premiums/tie-ins.ResultsPremiums/tie-ins were common in children’s but rarely appeared in adult ads, and all children’s ads contained images of healthy foods (apples and milk). Participants were significantly less likely to recall any food after viewing the children’s vs. the adult ad (MDC 32% [95% confidence interval 23, 41] vs. MDA 68% [59, 77]) p <0.001; BKC 46% [39, 56] vs. BKA 67% [58, 76] respectively, p = 0.002). For children’s ads alone and for both restaurants, recall frequency for all food was not significantly different from premium/tie-ins, and participants were significantly more likely to recall other food items than apples or milk. Moreover, premiums/tie-ins were recalled much more frequently than healthy food (MDC 45% [35, 55] vs. 9% [3, 15] p<0.001; BKC 54% [44, 64] vs. 2% [0, 5] respectively, p<0.001).ConclusionsChildren’s net impressions of television fast food advertising indicate that industry self-regulation failed to achieve a de-emphasis on toy premiums and tie-ins and did not adequately communicate healthy menu choices. The methods devised for this study could be used to monitor and better regulate advertising patterns of practice.

Complaints, complainants, and rulings regarding drug promotion in the United Kingdom and Sweden 2004-2012: a quantitative and qualitative study of pharmaceutical industry self-regulation.

BackgroundIn many European countries, medicines promotion is governed by voluntary codes of practice administered by the pharmaceutical industry under its own system of self-regulation. Involvement of industry organizations in policing promotion has been proposed to deter illicit conduct, but few detailed studies on self-regulation have been carried out to date. The objective of this study was to examine the evidence for promotion and self-regulation in the UK and Sweden, two countries frequently cited as examples of effective self-regulation.Methods and FindingsWe performed a qualitative content analysis of documents outlining the constitutions and procedures of these two systems. We also gathered data from self-regulatory bodies on complaints, complainants, and rulings for the period 2004–2012. The qualitative analysis revealed similarities and differences between the countries. For example, self-regulatory bodies in both countries are required to actively monitor promotional items and impose sanctions on violating companies, but the range of sanctions is greater in the UK where companies may, for instance, be audited or publicly reprimanded. In total, Swedish and UK bodies ruled that 536 and 597 cases, respectively, were in breach, equating to an average of more than one case/week for each country. In Sweden, 430 (47%) complaints resulted from active monitoring, compared with only two complaints (0.2%) in the UK. In both countries, a majority of violations concerned misleading promotion. Charges incurred on companies averaged €447,000 and €765,000 per year in Sweden and the UK, respectively, equivalent to about 0.014% and 0.0051% of annual sales revenues, respectively. One hundred cases in the UK (17% of total cases in breach) and 101 (19%) in Sweden were highlighted as particularly serious. A total of 46 companies were ruled in breach of code for a serious offence at least once in the two countries combined (n = 36 in the UK; n = 27 in Sweden); seven companies were in serious violation more than ten times each. A qualitative content analysis of serious violations pertaining to diabetes drugs (UK, n = 15; Sweden, n = 6; 10% of serious violations) and urologics (UK, n = 6; Sweden, n = 13; 9%) revealed various types of violations: misleading claims (n = 23; 58%); failure to comply with undertakings (n = 9; 23%); pre-licensing (n = 7; 18%) or off-label promotion (n = 2; 5%); and promotion of prescription drugs to the public (n = 6; 15%). Violations that go undetected or unpunished by self-regulatory bodies are the main limitation of this study, since they are likely to lead to an underestimate of industry misconduct.ConclusionsThe prevalence and severity of breaches testifies to a discrepancy between the ethical standard codified in industry Codes of Conduct and the actual conduct of the industry. We discuss regulatory reforms that may improve the quality of medicines information, such as pre-vetting and intensified active monitoring of promotion, along with larger fines, and giving greater publicity to rulings. But despite the importance of improving regulatory arrangements in an attempt to ensure unbiased medicines information, such efforts alone are insufficient because simply improving oversight and increasing penalties fail to address additional layers of industry bias.

Socioeconomic considerations of the commercial weathervane scallop fishery off Alaska using SWOT analysis

We conducted a socioeconomic assessment of the commercial weathervane scallop (Patinopecten caurinus) fishery off Alaska. The research was structured within the framework of an SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, a strategy commonly used to analyze the internal (strengths, weaknesses) and external (opportunities, threats) components of an industry. Specifically, we focused on five categories: social, technological, economic, environmental, and regulatory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 participants who had detailed knowledge of the fishery, including industry members, fishery managers, biologists, and members of coastal communities who interact with the fishery. We addressed topics such as attitudes of the Alaskan public towards scallop dredging, impacts of the scallop industry on Alaskan coastal communities, market influences of U.S. east coast and imported scallops, changes in the management of the fishery, and a number of environmental considerations. Several unifying opinions emerged from this study, including a lack of awareness of the fishery in many Alaskan communities and fears about rising fuel costs and diminishing harvest levels. Whereas the data-poor status of the stock appears to be the fishery's biggest weakness, the greatest strengths come in the form of conservative management, industry self-regulation, and the small footprint of the fishery. Impending threats include stock decline, unknown long-term detrimental effects of dredging, and changes in the management and structure of the fishery with the sunset of the State of Alaska's limited entry permit program. Most participants consider the fishery to be managed sustainably, although lack of data on scallop recruitment and abundance is a large concern. This analysis provides relevant information to both fishery managers and scallop industry members to contribute to the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the scallop fishery.

Corporate Social Responsibility Practice from 1800–1914: Past Initiatives and Current Debates

ABSTRACT:The history of the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has largely been limited to the twentieth century, with a focus on the United States. This paper provides a brief introduction to CSR practice from the nineteenth century through World War I in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, India, and Germany. The relevance of nineteenth-century CSR to current debates and research regarding the motivations for CSR, the business cases for CSR, stakeholder management, political CSR, industry self-regulation, and income inequality are also discussed.

Brief of Center for Democracy &amp; Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation, New American's Open Technology Institute, and World Privacy Forum in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins

The issue before the Court is whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff simply by authorizing a private right of action based on a violation of a federal statute—in this case, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Court must decide whether the judiciary will enforce the laws that Congress chooses to pass, or if the harms that those laws are intended to prevent will not be addressed unless there is additional “real world” injury. Amici support Mr. Robins’ position that a violation of a statute alone with no additional injury is sufficient to establish Article III standing, which will ensure that the FCRA’s consumer protections remain robust and enforceable. For more than 40 years, the FCRA has protected individuals from a range of specific, concrete harms caused by a powerful but opaque consumer reporting system. Congress included a private right of action in this law to ensure that individuals could vindicate their own rights and keep the credit industry and other FCRA-regulated entities—including furnishers of data—accountable. The FCRA’s carefully balanced consumer protections remain important today. We are now in a digital era in which data brokers routinely acquire, access, compile, analyze, and sell vast data stores of consumers’ personal information, transactions, and behaviors. This activity occurs with little regulation or market incentive to ensure that information is accurate, timely, and used in a manner compliant with existing law. Neither industry self-regulation nor administrative enforcement mechanisms make the FCRA’s private right of action unnecessary. Many data brokers do not consider themselves within the scope of the FCRA, even if they furnish information used by others to determine eligibility for employment, insurance, credit, housing, and other FCRA-covered purposes. Furthermore, administrative agencies have limited resources, are focused on pursuing matters to serve the general public interest, and often settle actions through consent decrees. The FCRA’s private cause of action is necessary to ensure that individuals can vindicate their own interests and litigate actions to final judgment. For these reasons, the Court should ensure that consumers may continue to pursue violations of the FCRA through private actions. If, however, the Court rules in Spokeo’s favor, it should cabin its holding narrowly to the facts of this case. This result will ensure Congress has the ability to respond to modern privacy threats and avoid the possibility of eviscerating a broad range of other statutory rights.

Industry Sustainability Under Technological Evolution: A Case Study of the Overshooting Hypothesis in Sports

This research investigates cycles in equipment-based sports in which a sport can experience a rapid rise in popularity when it is new but under technology-driven competition, equipment “overshoots” the capabilities and budget of users, collapsing the equipment market and the sport, with significant adverse consequences for the industry and allied sectors of the economy. We find clear support for the overshooting hypothesis in this case, with adverse consequences not only for the sport's manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors but we also find indications of spillover effects in allied sectors. We suggest that industry self-regulation may be a way of avoiding this phenomenon and its adverse consequences.

Astrological TV: The Creation and Destruction of a Genre

The National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters implemented its Television Code in March 1952 to protect the commercial system from congressional attempts to reform it. Angered by the Code's prohibition of the so-called astrological programs, viewers mobilized and wrote letters of protest to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1953. Taken as a whole, the letters demonstrate viewers' confusion about—but wholesale belief in—the FCC's role in regulating television, and they reveal viewers' discursive construction of this fledgling genre. Rather than analyzing the prohibition of astrological programs as a self-regulatory maneuver or as a cultural moment, this article highlights the intersection of industrial self-regulation, government regulatory power, and viewer feedback.

Self-regulation in the Canadian securities industry: Funnel in, funnel out, or funnel away?

The study analysed the processing of complaints against investment brokers and Dealer Members through the Investment Dealer Association (IDA) of Canada's disciplinary system between 2002 and 2007. The cases processed are discussed in relations to a misconduct funnel that examines the IDA's claim that it brought more complaints into the disciplinary system (funnel in), and shows how these complaints were reduced once they entered the system (funnel out), and deflected away from the criminal justice system (funnel away). The results indicate that the IDA was ineffective in disciplining its members because it was unable to handle the more serious and systemic industry problems. To respond to its impossible mandate, the IDA was involved in symbolic management to create a well-crafted image for public consumption of its effectiveness, notwithstanding its inability to do so in practice. The results further increased the call for cross-disciplinary research on securities market regulation.

Redefining Design Ethics

ABSTRACTDiscussions of law within graphic design education typically focus on copyright, trademarks, contracts, and the legal rights of designers, rather than on the laws that regulate the content and form of media such as web and mobile applications. Similarly, discussions of “design ethics” in many curricula are incomplete, referencing “Citizen Designer” or Glaser's “12 Steps on the Road to Hell,” but overlooking the ethical dimensions of the design process that occur subsequent to the selection of a client. Using the legal case of Maguire v. SOCOG (2000) and the issue of accessibility as points of departure, this article examines the legal and ethical aspects of web and mobile design. It proposes alternative definitions of design ethics that apply to the entirety of the production process, and calls for designers to adopt industry self-regulation or licensure to help ensure that designers are aware of and comply with the ethical standards and laws applicable to their profession.

Food Industry Approach to Rising Prevalence of Children Obesity in the Czech Republic

This paper explores the approach of the food industry towards the issue of rising children obesity in the context of the external regulatory environment and industry self-regulation. It presents the roles and positions of the industry associations, self-regulation and industry representatives through a case study of best practices in applying self-regulation rules. It proves that companies, acting in accordance with the long-term strategy of social responsibility, approach the self-regulation respectfully, because its absence would be a cause for development and implementation of stricter legislation over the long run.

Food and Beverage Marketing to Youth.

After nearly a decade of concern over the role of food and beverage marketing to youth in the childhood obesity epidemic, American children and adolescents - especially those from communities of color - are still immersed in advertising and marketing environments that primarily promote unhealthy foods and beverages. Despite some positive steps, the evidence shows that the food and beverage industry self-regulation alone is not likely to significantly reduce marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to youth. A variety of research is needed to monitor industry marketing of unhealthy products to young people, and identify the most promising approaches to improve children's food marketing environments. The continued presence of unhealthy marketing toward children despite years of industry self-regulation suggests it is time for stronger action by policymakers to protect young people from harmful marketing practices.

The Internet of Things &amp; Wearable Technology: Addressing Privacy &amp; Security Concerns Without Derailing Innovation

This paper highlights some of the opportunities presented by the rise of the so-called “Internet of Things” and wearable technology in particular, and encourages policymakers to allow these technologies to develop in a relatively unabated fashion. As with other new and highly disruptive digital technologies, however, the Internet of Things and wearable tech will challenge existing social, economic, and legal norms. In particular, these technologies raise a variety of privacy and safety concerns. Other technical barriers exist that could hold back IoT and wearable tech — including disputes over technical standards, system interoperability, and access to adequate spectrum to facilitate wireless networking — but those issues are not dealt with here. The better alternative to top-down regulation is to deal with these concerns creatively as they develop using a combination of educational efforts, technological empowerment tools, social norms, public and watchdog pressure, industry best practices and self-regulation, transparency, and targeted enforcement of existing legal standards (especially torts) as needed. This “bottom-up” and “layered” approach to dealing with problems will not preemptively suffocate experimentation and innovation in this space. This paper concludes by outlining these solutions.Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we should not overlook the role societal and individual adaptation will play here, just as it has with so many other turbulent technological transformations.