Advertising Standards Authority Refuses to Deal with IFA Complaint

IFA President Joe Healy said the refusal of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) to adjudicate on IFA’s complaint about adverts taken out by the Go Vegan movement means that such adverts are completely unregulated.

The ASAI said that they only deal with adverts concerning advertisements that may be considered to be in breach of the Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Communications.

 

The ASAI claims the adverts in question are intended to ‘mainly influence opinion about a matter of public interest….. and ‘it is outside the jurisdiction of the ASAI’.

 

“It’s clear that any sort of organisation can make claims without any oversight whatsoever. There is an unacceptable gap in the system,” he said.

 

IFA had lodged a complaint on the basis that the adverts gave misleading information about climate change.

 

“We cannot have a ‘Wild West’ approach, where unaccountable groups can place highly questionable advertising campaigns,” he said.

 

Joe Healy said there is a role for Communications Minister Richard Bruton to intervene and to establish an oversight body that will not shy away from decisions.

 

“The Vegan movement must come clean on where they get their funding. If they have nothing to hide, they should publish this immediately,” he said.