Children

Issues of advertising law and ethics often center around advertising's potential impacts on children. Since about 1970, many concerns and criticisms have been expressed about the effects of ads on kids, and many laws have been proposed to deal with those effects. In addition to the Federal Trade Commission's active involvement in protecting children, because much of the advertising targeting children historically has appeared on television, the Federal Communications Commission likewise has been heavily involved in regulating such advertising.

More recently it has become common for advertising's critics to cast otherwise unconstitutional regulatory proposals in terms of child protection. For example, after several congressional bills designed to curtail tobacco advertising failed, their sponsors began introducing bills to stop tobacco advertising that might have an impact on children. The obvious hope is that courts will be more forgiving of laws aimed at protecting kids.

For additional information, see the following: Children's Television Act of 1990. (47 U.S.C. Sec. 303a) Standards for children's television programming & advertising.