Monday 12 May 2008

Debt charity attacks some Facebook ads

A leading charity has warned that online ads placed on social networking sites like Facebook could be in breach of industry laws.

Debt charity Credit Action said that companies have been keen to take advantage of the massive growth of social networking sites and use them to deliver adverts targets to their users.

However, it added that some credit companies, especially payday and logbook loans companies, are opting for online ads which violate industry regulations.

"Research by Credit Action has shown that much of this advertising breaks the rules on advertising credit and so we are campaigning to encouraging Facebook users to report ads which break the rules on advertising credit," a statement explained.

According to the charity, some of online adverts did not state the annual percentage rate (APR) for interest on the loan.

In an interview with the BBC, Credit Action's Malcolm Hurlston said that online advertising rules existed "for a reason".

He told the broadcaster: "They are there to make it clear to people from the beginning what they are letting themselves in for."

Category: Social Media

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