Commercializing Children: Laws and Regulations Affecting Advertisements Directed At Children In France, Spain and Sweden

Abstract

Countries have responded in a variety of ways to advertising targeting children. While the United States has been reluctant to restrict advertising to children, other countries have not been similarly reluctant. This article examines the approaches three member states of the European Union have taken to the regulation of advertising aimed at children. By examining these approaches, we can visit alternative regulatory approaches to advertising targeting children, and in the process uncover insights that could enhance approaches to the regulation of advertising directed toward children in the United States.

This article begins with a description of the general approach of the European Union to advertising to children. The next several sections then detail the approaches taken by three EU countries: France, Spain, and Sweden, as well as underlying rationales for each nation’s approach to regulating advertising to children. Section XI then examines how these nations’ experiences can be useful to the United States.

Keywords: Regulation, Advertising, European Union