New Challenges and Old Problems: Are Changes Needed to the Law on Advertising?

Digital technologies and information exchange are all developing at an intense rate, and the legal field is struggling to keep up. New advertising techniques and methods are emerging, as are ways of determining audiences. An enormous amount of data on consumer behaviour is collected online, including by advertisers. In its current form, the law is not always fully capable of regulating issues pertaining primarily to the digital realm. Some of the more conservative and cumbersome constructions are excessive when it comes to regulating online advertising. Another frequent issue is the lack of regulation for situations that arise when using electronic and online services, and advertising services and platforms. The problem is that it can be difficult to determine the liability of those involved in disseminating information online. Over the past few years, the courts and Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia have worked to build a practice which has already become firmly embedded in legislative regulation. Approaches developed for individual disputes have served to create general rules. Do these rules need to be enshrined in law? Should the excessively detailed regulation of requirements concerning advertising content be simplified? How can greater flexibility be offered in terms of communicating obligatory information to the consumer? What can be done to more clearly outline the boundaries of responsibility, both in relation to advertisers and advertising distributers?