UK government yanks Facebook ads
p2pnet news | Advertising:- Britain’s Central Office of Information (COI), with budget of £330 million and which co-ordinates UK government advertising, has instructed its buying agency, i-level, not to buy space on sites carrying user-generated content.
The decision is meant to stop government messages showing up, “alongside offensive or otherwise unsuitable material,” says Times Online, going on the decision will, “bar the use of profile pages of users of Facebook and other social networking sites”.
Companies including Vodafone, First Direct, Halifax, Prudential, Virgin Media and the AA have all pulled ads after they appeared next to content generated by the far-right British Nationalist Party, says the story, adding the BBC has also withdrawn advertising from Facebook.
i-level, “already stipulates that advertising should not appear on sites that contain socially unacceptable behaviour,” says The Guardian.
The COI, “went a step further after several companies highlighted the dangers of appearing on user-generated pages – which on Facebook include ‘America is full of blithering idiots’ and ‘Bring the death penalty back and why not make them public executions’,” says the story.
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Also See:
Times Online – Government rejects Facebook as a friend, August 6, 2007
The Guardian – Government halts Facebook advertising, , August 7, 2007
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