3/3/2020
It was brought to an end, on February 27, the public consultation aimed at creating an ordinance to regularize children’s advertising, an initiative which was lauched by the National Consumer Secretariat (SENACON), an agency which is part of the Ministry of Justice of Brazil.
Strongly criticised by organizations such as IDEC and Instituto Alana, who see in the initiative a risk of regression of the rules in force in the country, the first draft submitted to discussion aroused the polarized debate for, from one side, the protection and defense of the rights of children and, on the other side, the fundamental principles of free enterprise, bringing back the discussion regarding the need for a better definition of the criteria for the placement of advertisements aimed at children, as well as confronting the conception that any advertisement aimed at children should be considered abusive.
Among the guidelines initially proposed are the ban on merchandising or indirect advertising with the use of children, elements of the children’s universe, as well as stratagems aimed at capturing the attention of the public considered to be vulnerable; the opposition to advertisements capable of causing the embarrassment of parents and guardians as a form of pressure on consumption; the prohibition against direct appeal to purchase or instructions for use and consumption.
In turn, the first draft of the proposal admits the possibility of running advertisements aimed at children, as long as certain criteria are observed, signaling the interest of the public administration in finding a way of balancing the protection of infants against legitimate business interests.
L.O. Baptista has acted in cases involving children’s advertising in different market segments and has been closely following the discussions on this subject. Our lawyers are available to assist companies in developing practices to prevent and restrain any penalties for child advertising.
