• May 18, 2007

Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of government relations for the Association of National Advertisers, said the Center for Digital Democracy is attempting to inappropriately expand the scope of an ongoing Federal Trade Commission analysis into food and beverage advertising expenditures.

"If these other issues need to be dealt with, they should be dealt with separately," Jaffe said. His comment was in response to a letter accompanying a 98-page report titled "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age."

The Children's Advertising Review Unit, Jaffe maintained, has expanded its coverage to include all types of media, including the Internet. CARU keeps growing to incorporate new technologies and issues as they develop.

In addition, the FTC already has the authority to stop any false, deceptive, or unfair practice.

Each time a new form of media emerges, "there are critics who have said the sky is falling," Jaffe added, citing comic books as an example.

"The fact is that with all these media, we've been able to develop regulatory systems that are appropriate. In fact, parents have much more control over media now than when I was a kid," he added.

--Laurie Petersen