About ICAS

The International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) is a global platform which promotes effective advertising self-regulation. ICAS members include Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) and other national, regional and international bodies working to ensure that advertising and marketing communications are legal, honest, truthful and decent.

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Why what we do matters

Responsible advertising gives us value and choice. It entertains and informs. It helps fund the media, sport and culture we enjoy so much. It can be a direct force for social good: encouraging us to contribute to good causes, discouraging us from drinking and driving. And it drives competition, provides jobs and powers the economy.

Effective Ad Self-Regulation is however indispensable because some advertising is irresponsible – misleading, harming or offending people.

By helping to make ads responsible, Ad Self-Regulation delivers for people and society, providing fast, flexible and efficient rules – often in conjunction with the law – at no cost to the taxpayer. But it also benefits the advertising industry by making people feel more confident in the ads they see or hear and by providing a level playing field, where all advertisers play by the same rules.

Mission

The objectives pursued by ICAS include:

• Exchanging best practices around ad self-regulation and working on common solutions to the
  global challenges faced by the advertising industry.These challenges including, for instance, the digitalization of the economy and new attitudes towards the use of personal data.
• Facilitating the establishment of new SROs in emerging markets and empowering them to grow.
• Promoting self-regulation worldwide and highlighting its benefits for consumers, businesses, regulators and society as a whole.

ICAS is managed by an Executive Committee of senior experts in Advertising Self-Regulation, with the support of a permanent Secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium. The ICAS General Meeting is the top level governance body responsible for deciding and overseeing the network’s strategy and activities.