Watchdog targets web advertising

 

Gallery

By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 20 Aug 2009 at 12:11

The Office of Fair Trading is to launch a major investigation into online advertising and pricing practices in a bid to end confusion and exploitation for consumers.

The watchdog says the Advertising and Pricing market study will examine how general consumer laws and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to internet transactions.

“We’ve had a number of complaints about practices such as ‘dripping’ where the price keeps going up as you click through you a transaction,” a spokesperson for the OFT told PC Pro. “We are not sure that advertising and pricing are as clear online as they could be and want to hear from consumers and consumer groups over what can be done to improve the situation.”

The OFT will also concentrate on pricing techniques such as “baiting”, which sucks buyers in with extremely limited offers, as well as opt-out and opt-in boxes for annual renewals and add-on charges such as insurance on travel sites.

The organisation will also investigate services such as the much-maligned Phorm that would target consumers with advertisements based on their surfing behaviour.

“In particular, we may look at behavioural advertising, where information on a consumer's online activity is used to target the internet advertising they see and the practice of tailoring prices to individual consumers on the basis of their personal data,” the OFT says.

The organisation is currently taking proposals on the scope of the project, with the full consultation starting this autumn.