Site Provides Guide for Children's Research Ethics

In the UK, The Advertising Association and Turner Media Innovations have set up a web site to help practitioners from the wider marketing community understand the ethical rules which apply to conducting research with children.

Marketing to children featured in both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat pre-election manifestos, and Prime Minister David Cameron now chairs a 'childhood and families taskforce' which aims to crack down on 'irresponsible' practices.

The new site - known as CHECK - has been developed to provide marketers with a simple guide to the rules concerning marketing to, or communicating with children. With the help and support of Government, regulators, practitioners and trade bodies, its aim is to ensure that all existing regulations and rules are now accessible in one place.

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey says CHECK will play an important role in ensuring advertisers and marketers continue to act responsibly when communicating with children, and reiterates the Government's full support for the initiative.

Geoff Gosling, Chair of the Market Research Society's (MRS) Standards Board, said that the MRS has been involved in developing the web site by supplying its recently updated and toughened MRS Code rules on children's research.

'Children's research has always had the highest level of ethical protection within the MRS Code, and the CHECK web site along with the revised MRS guidelines will strengthen this even further,' Gosling added.

The site can be accessed at: www.check.uk.com .