Additional Advertising Policy Prohibitions in the European Union

Last updated: 2 days ago

In addition to the global prohibitions set out in the Advertising Policies, our Advertising Policies prohibit ads and content in the European Union that run afoul of the Ireland Online Safety Code, including the following:

Audiovisual commercial communications harmful to children, including audiovisual commercial communications that: 

  • Directly exhort children to buy or hire a product or service by exploiting their inexperience or credulity; 
  • Directly encourage children to persuade their parents or others to purchase the goods or services being advertised; 
  • Exploit the special trust children place in parents, teachers or other persons; 
  • Unreasonably show children in dangerous situations; 
  • Are for alcohol aimed specifically at children.

Audiovisual commercial communications harmful to the general public, including audiovisual commercial communications that: 

  • Prejudice respect for human dignity; 
  • Include or promote any discrimination based on: sex, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation; 
  • Encourage behaviour prejudicial to health or safety; 
  • Encourage behaviour grossly prejudicial to the protection of the environment; 
  • Are for cigarettes and other tobacco products, as well as for electronic cigarettes and refill containers; 
  • Encourage immoderate consumption of alcoholic beverages; 
  • Are for medicinal products and medical treatment available only on prescription in Ireland.

Restricted audiovisual commercial communications, including audiovisual commercial communications that: 

  • Contain incitement to violence or hatred directed against a group of persons or a member of a group based on any of the grounds referred to in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (including, but not restricted to, membership of the Traveller community or Roma communities), namely sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation; 
  • Constitute a public provocation to commit a terrorist offence as set out in Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2017/541, as transposed into Irish law by section 6(1)(i) of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005; 
  • Constitute an offence concerning “child pornography” as set out in Article 5(4) of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as transposed into Irish law by section 5(1)(e) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998; 
  • Constitute an offence concerning racism and xenophobia as set out in Article 1 of the Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA, as transposed into Irish law by sections 2 and 3 of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989.

Restricted video content, including content that: 

  • Bullies or humiliates another person; 
  • Promotes or encourages behaviour that characterises a feeding or eating disorder; 
  • Promotes or encourages self-harm or suicide (including content that encourages behaviour prejudicial to the health or safety of children, including dangerous challenges); 
  • Contains incitement to violence or hatred against a group of persons or a member of a group based on any of the grounds referred to in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (including, but not restricted to, membership of the Traveller community or Roma communities), namely sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation; 
  • Constitutes a public provocation to commit a terrorist offence as set out in Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2017/541, as transposed into Irish law by section 6(1)(i) of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005; 
  • Constitutes an offence concerning “child pornography” as set out in Article 5(4) of Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, as transposed into Irish law by section 5(1)(e) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998; 
  • Constitutes an offence concerning racism and xenophobia as set out in Article 1 of the Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA, as transposed into Irish law by sections 2 and 3 of the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989.

Adult-only video content, including content that: 

  • Consists of pornography; 
  • Consists of realistic representations of, or of the effects of, gross or gratuitous violence or acts of cruelty.

Surreptitious commercial communications, including commercial communications that contain: 

  • Representation in words or pictures of goods, services, the name, the trade mark or the activities of a producer of goods or a provider of services in programmes when such representation is intended by the media service provider to serve as advertising and might mislead the public as to its nature. Such representation shall, in particular, be considered as intentional if it is done in return for payment or for similar consideration. 

Subliminal techniques, including techniques that: 

  • By using images of very brief duration or by any other means, exploits the possibility of conveying a message to, or otherwise influencing the minds of, members of an audience without their being aware or fully aware of what has been done.