The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) is proposing various amendments to the current law regulating advertising, such as more clearly defining its various rules that advertisers must comply with and streamlining the government’s administrative procedures for permitting businesses to install advertisements on the external walls of buildings.
The proposed streamlined administrative procedures include replacing the current licensing system with a registration system.
The bureau has launched a 30-day public consultation on its proposed amendments to the advertising law, which was announced during a press conference at its headquarters in Nam Van on Friday.
The public consultation, which started on Friday, is running until August 2, during which five sessions will be held, comprising two for members of the general public, one for representatives from the advertising sector, one for community associations, and one for business associations and representatives.
The current advertising law, which was enacted in 1989, covers advertising used for promoting the sales of goods and services, excluding advertising for non-commercial purposes such as government advertising, i.e., advertisements published by the government to publicise its policies and measures or for public awareness campaigns.
The bureau proposes that the amended advertising law will continue to only cover advertisements for commercial purposes.
Proposed legislation drafted by the government must be passed by the legislature to become law.
Addressing Friday’s press conference, DSEDT Director Yau Yun Wah said that the government is aiming to submit a bill proposing amendments to the advertising law, after the completion of the ongoing public consultation process, to the legislature in the fourth quarter of this year.
Yau noted that the current advertising law has been in force for over 30 years, adding that with the respective changes in the patterns of economic and commercial activities and the respective development in information technology over the years, the types of products and services advertised as well as the approaches and medium for advertising nowadays differ significantly to those in the past.
Moreover, Yau said that in compliance with the government’s ongoing policies of streamlining its administrative procedures for granting permission for various business activities, it is necessary to improve the respective provisions regulating the government’s permission for the installation of outdoor advertisements listed in the current advertising law.
Consequently, Yau said, the government is proposing various amendments to the advertising law and has correspondingly launched a public consultation on the matter.
Yau said that the proposed amendments include more clearly defining the scopes of advertising and the scopes of the individuals and entities involved in advertising businesses, improving rules on advertising certain types of products and services, regulating emerging mediums of advertisements, streamlining the government’s administrative procedures for permitting the installation of outdoor advertisements, and strengthening the government’s supervision of the city’s advertising businesses.
The public consultation document notes that according to the advertising law’s current version, all information on advertisements must be true, while advertisers must ensure that the genuineness of the information displayed on advertisements can always be verified.
According to the current advertising law, advertisers are prohibited from publishing advertisements containing untruths, exaggerated or ambiguous information or omitting key information.
According to the consultation document, the government is proposing to further extend the scopes of possible violations, according to which advertisers will be prohibited from listing any information whose genuineness has not been confirmed or cannot be verified.
The government is also proposing that advertisers who have omitted key information on the products and services advertised or have provided fake information will be officially regarded as publishing advertisements aiming to cheat consumers.
Moreover, according to the consultation document, the government is proposing to newly cover and define “brand ambassadors” in the advertising law and to regulate their activities.
The government is proposing that brand ambassadors must publicise the goods or services “based on facts”.
The document also proposes that brand ambassadors will be prohibited from “recommending goods or services that they have never actually used”.
This photo taken yesterday shows advertisements on the exterior of the Macau Square office building-cum-shopping centre in Nam Van. – Photo: Tony Wong
