Children's Advertising Review Unit Begins Monitoring for Compliance with Revised Advertising Guidelines
McLean, VA – January 4, 2022 – BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) begins monitoring child-directed advertising under the revised CARU Advertising Guidelines, widely recognized industry standards to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience. The revised guidelines were released in July 2021, and went into effect on January 1, 2022.
CARU monitors child-directed media to ensure compliance with these guidelines, seeking voluntary cooperation of companies and, where necessary, referral for enforcement action to an appropriate federal regulatory body, usually the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or to state Attorneys General.
The steady growth in online platforms and new immersive, interactive forms of child-directed media is reflected in the revised Guidelines, which now more specifically address digital and social media, video content, influencer advertising, apps, in-game advertising and purchasing, and other interactive children’s spaces.
CARU monitors child-directed media to ensure compliance with these guidelines, seeking voluntary cooperation of companies and, where necessary, referral for enforcement action to an appropriate federal regulatory body, usually the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or to state Attorneys General.
The steady growth in online platforms and new immersive, interactive forms of child-directed media is reflected in the revised Guidelines, which now more specifically address digital and social media, video content, influencer advertising, apps, in-game advertising and purchasing, and other interactive children’s spaces.
FAQs answering questions on how to comply with the CARU Advertising Guidelines will be updated on an ongoing basis as new media trends and challenges arise. As new FAQs about the Guidelines are released, they will be announced in the CARU section of the BBB National Programs website.
CARU also offers advertising pre-screening services to help brands, marketers, agencies, and developers spot and correct problems before child-directed advertisements and promotions go live.
Learn more about CARU here.