Revision of the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

The 1994 “Advertising Law of the PR China” was extensively revised in 2015. This paper presents the reforms in the new Advertising Law and compares selected points with the old Advertising Law. The changes presented include the introduction of a definition for misleading advertisement, the incorporation of public interest advertising (公益广告) into the Advertising Law, the inclusion of the advertising spokesperson into the civil law liability scheme and the widening of disciplinary measures against administrative personnel. The comparison with the old Advertising Law shows that the revised Law has a greater scope and more detailed regulations. A more uniform application of the Law has been facilitated through the definition of misleading advertisement. This definition will, additionally, facilitate the State Administration of Industry and Commerce in monitoring advertisements and review content both pre- and post-publication. If fully implemented, the numerous changes in the new Law will require the advertising industry to profoundly alter its current practices.