The Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – which has been a major rules-setter in international advertising self-regulation since 1937 — has issued a statement calling on the global advertising community to set self-regulation guidelines that guard against placement of advertising on sites engaging in or facilitating illegal activity, including content piracy.
Brent Sanders of Microsoft Corp, the Chair of the ICC Commission on Marketing and Advertising, said “There is consensus among everyone in the ecosystem that advertising should not support illegal activity.”
The ICC statement (written in consultation with the World Federation of Advertisers and other industry associations), urges actions to reduce the risk of ads being placed on sites “dedicated to either engaging in or facilitating illegal activity.” Measures that are “commercially reasonable” should be taken to remove or exclude piracy (and other “illegal activity” websites) from marketing campaigns.
Here is the ICC press release. The statement itself can be downloaded here.