AUTOCONTROL
We are the independent advertising self-regulatory organisation (SRO) in Spain, founded in 1995 as a non-profit association. Our members include advertisers, advertising agencies, media and professional associations, and our aim is to promote responsible advertising: truthful, legal, honest and fair.
We currently have around 600 direct members and 4,000 indirect members, representing around 70% of advertising investment in Spain.
members
members
investment
Since its creation, AUTOCONTROL has managed the Spanish system of self-regulation of commercial communication, based on three main instruments:
Codes of Conduct
The Code of Advertising Practice of AUTOCONTROL, based on the Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Code), and the Sectoral Codes of Conduct whose application has been entrusted to AUTOCONTROL.
Advertising Jury
Extrajudicial body for the disputes resolution that is responsible for resolving advertising complaints. Recognized as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body, by the Directorate-General for Consumers Affairs, of the Ministry of Health, Consumer and Social Affairs.
Legal Counsel Advice
It is formed by experts in Advertising Law, Privacy and Data Protection and IT with exclusive dedication to AUTOCONTROL, who oversee advising companies in the fulfilment of their legal obligations in these areas.
Our activities include:
The handling of complaints with regard to commercial communications, submitted by consumers, consumer associations, businesses and public offices.
The advice to companies, through tools such as Copy Advice® (advice on the deontological and legal compliance of non-broadcast advertising campaigns before their broadcast); Cookie Advice® (technical and legal advice on the use of cookies); Data Advice® (technical and legal advice on data protection and Digital Regulation) and Web Advice® (advice on compliance with advertising regulations on websites).
Training through courses and seminars addressed not only to law or advertising professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge in the field of advertising regulations or be updated in the same, but also to recent graduates who want to orient their professional career in this field.
Moreover, AUTOCONTROL actively collaborates, within the framework of the agreements it has signed, with several national, autonomous and municipal administrations that are competent in the control of advertising activity.
What is
Advertising
Self-Regulation?
Advertising Self-Regulation or Ad Self-Regulation is a way for the advertising industry to actively regulate itself to ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful. Ads must be prepared with a due sense of responsibility to the consumer and society, with respect to the principles of fair competition.
The three parts of the industry – the advertisers who pay for the advertising, the advertising agencies responsible for its form and content, and the media that carry it – agree on standards for advertising and set up a system to ensure that advertisements that fail to meet those standards are quickly corrected or removed.
International
advertising
self-regulation
AUTOCONTROL plays an active role in two key organisations: the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA), and International Council for Ad Self-Regulation (ICAS) which were created to promote advertising self-regulation in and European and at an international level.
Activity Report
Prior consultation: since its launch, AUTOCONTROL has received almost 518,000 requests, from which 424,000 were Copy Advice® requests.
Post Control: since its creation, the AUTOCONTROL Advertising Jury has resolved more than 5,354 cases, in an average time of 14 days in the first instance.
+500,000
Prior consultation
+400,000
Copy Advice® requests
+5,000
Jury has resolved
Consumer information campaign
This campaign has been funded by the European Union’s Consumer Programme 2014-2020.
The content of this promotional campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.