NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Censorship of Advertising on the Internet
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Censorship of Advertising on the Internet
Mark J. Welch, Esq. (markwelch_at_ca-probate.com)
Mon, 05 May 1997 08:56:08 -0700
I am sorry that Cindy Alpers thinks that it is "ultra-conservative
opinion" to reject her advertisement (In her words: "The banner
consisted of a small, tasteful picture of a young woman, in a
bikini, sunning on the bow of a boat while the caption read,
'Bikini Photo Contest! Enter to win! Click here.' We are
running the ad to kick off our, 'family oriented,' bikini photo
contest on our site.")
I consider myself quite liberal, and quite open about sex and
personal freedom. At the same time, my personal opinion, as
a survivor of sexual violence, is that I am uncomfortable at the
use of 'skin' to sell -- indeed, 15 years ago I stopped writing for
a computer magazine because they allowed an advertisement
showing a woman in a negligee leaning over a computer, which
I considered degrading, offensive, and tasteless.
I do NOT want to find pictures of bikini-clad women (or men
in swimsuits, for that matter) on my web pages. Indeed, I
recently withdrew from the 2X banner ad network because they
refused to remove an ad which I found offensive (in my
opinion, it looked like an ad for an 'adult' web site), and they
defended their refusal to remove the ad by noting that the same
ad runs on LinkExchange and SmartClicks -- but on those
networks, the ad runs only on sites that allow "mature" ads,
which is an option I have NOT allowed).
Ms. Alpers used the term "tasteful" and I am sure that the ad
she is referring to is as tasteful as it can be, considering the
subject of the site. But some of us do not find it tasteful to
have advertisements for "bikini" web sites on our web sites.
In my personal beliefs, I am opposed to the Ku Klux Klan
and the Neo-Nazis, and I would be outraged to find ads
for those organizations on my web pages. Yet it is NOT
an issue of censoring only views I disagree with: In my
personal beliefs, I am pro-choice, yet I would be uncomfortable
if an ad network I participated in were to carry advertisements
for an abortion clinic or for Planned Parenthood.
>Have we over-policed ourselves in hopes of acceptance by the other, more
>established forms of media? Will the internet ad agencies and banner
>organizations make our decisions on what is suitable and proper for the
>entire internet community? Your comments please.
The agencies and networks are NOT a homogenous group, nor
do they control what appears on web sites. But as a web
publisher, I want "my" ad networks and banner exchange services
to monitor and "censor" the advertising that will appear on my
site. And as an advertiser, I am only going to buy ads in a
network that is professional and has professional affiliates.
(It may be that I could sell my services more effectively
if I ran ads on "adult" sites, or in "adult" publications, but
I have DECIDED that those are not acceptable forms of
advertising for my business.)
As advertising networks add targetting and blocking capabilities,
I am sure that more of them will allow advertisements like the
ones that Ms. Alpers reported were rejected, since it will then
be up to the web site to decide what types of ads to run and
which to reject. Until that option is available, the ad network
must be prudent and accept only ads that are going to be
acceptable to a wide range of affiliates. That means rejecting
all sites that are likely to be offensive, including those that the
ad network agrees with.
I fully support Ms. Alpers' right to maintain her site, and I also
support her right to advertise on sites that are willing to carry
her advertisements. But MANY media outlets reject ads that
are "inappropriate," and I support the right of media outlets
to do so. (When I worked for BYTE magazine, they rejected
ads with scantily-clad women. Perhaps more significantly, they
rejected a very traditional advertisement from a CAR company,
not because the ad was tasteless, but because they believed that
an automobile advertisement was "inappropriate" for a computer
magazine.
Certainly, if Ms. Alpers feels strongly about her views, she
can join an ad network like 2X, which would probably allow
her ad, or she can start her own advertising network or
banner exchange company. The oft-quoted statement that
"Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own the presses"
is quite accurate -- but we ALL own printing presses on the
internet.
-- Mark J. Welch, Attorney at Law, Pleasanton CA
-- http://www.ca-probate.com 510-462-8483
-- This email is NOT legal advice, and is NOT confidential.
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