The Advertising Standards Authority of Britain, an industry-financed body that operates independent of the government to monitor advertising in the UK, has announced it is extending its oversight to social networks, company sites and other nontraditional digital marketing activities, The New York Times reports. The announcement follows similar moves in more than a dozen European countries, the report states, as well as the release of guidelines by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for marketing via social media and blogs in that country. The Advertising Standards Authority will include particularly tough sanctions, the report states, as "marketers, ad agencies and Internet companies are eager to demonstrate that 'self-regulation' can protect consumers at a time when the future of marketing is under scrutiny." (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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