The Advertising Standards Bureau has ruled that it considers brand Facebook pages to be a form of advertising, thus making them responsible for all comments posted on said pages.
The decision is based on a ruling on a complaint made against the Smirnoff Facebook page, which is managed by Profero and Diageo.
Under the ruling, it was deemed that Facebook is an advertising platform, which falls under the [Australian Association of National Advertisers] Code of Ethics.” ASB’s acting CEO Brian Gordon told beautydirectory.
In the case of Smirnoff’s Facebook page, the complaint itself, which related to images and comments made by the brand and fans, was rejected. However the resulting ruling will have repercussions for many brands to come.
As a Facebook page can be used to engage with customers, the Board further considered that the Code applies to the content generated by the advertisers as well as material or comments posted by users or friends,” the ASB board said in a statement.
Gordon says the ruling means it’s now up to brands to moderate and remove comments that are offensive or breach the code in some way. Moving forward, if we receive a complaint relating to a brand’s Facebook page, it will be considered under the Code by the ABS,” says Gordon.
