The Advertising Board has submitted its annual report to the Minister for Communication and Information, outlining priorities that include regulating digital advertisements, coordinating government advertising through a one-door system and reforming advertising laws. Board chairman Santosh Shrestha presented the report on Wednesday. The Kathmandu-based Board said it aims to control misleading advertisements on social media and other digital platforms.
Digital advertising and consumer protection
The report identifies the regulation of digital advertising as a key priority, with particular attention to misleading promotions on social media and digital platforms. The Board’s stated aim is to control such advertising, reflecting its concern with how promotional material is presented and circulated online. The report does not specify particular enforcement measures, timelines or penalties, but places digital advertising within the Board’s work agenda.
The focus on misleading advertisements distinguishes the digital priority from a general call to regulate online content. According to the Board’s stated objective, the issue is the advertising people encounter on social media and digital platforms. The report’s submission brings that objective to the attention of the ministry, while the details of how the Board intends to carry it out remain unspecified in the information provided.
A one-door system for government advertising
Another priority is managing government advertisements through a one-door system. The proposal would bring the handling of government advertising under a coordinated arrangement, rather than leaving its management across separate channels. The report identifies the system as a priority, but does not set out how it would operate, which agencies would be involved or when it might be introduced.
The Board has also called for proportional distribution of public welfare advertisements. This is a separate but related priority in the report: while the one-door approach concerns the management of government advertisements, proportional distribution concerns how public welfare advertising is allocated. The report does not state a formula or criteria for that distribution. It establishes the issue as part of the Board’s agenda without providing further operational details.
Legal reform among the Board’s priorities
Reforming advertising laws is another issue included in the annual report. The Board’s priorities therefore span both the administration of advertisements and the rules governing the sector. The report places legal reform alongside digital regulation, the proposed one-door system and the distribution of public welfare advertisements, indicating the range of matters the Board has identified for attention.
Shrestha presented the report to the Minister for Communication and Information on Wednesday. The submission gives the ministry an account of the Board’s priorities, including its stated intention to address misleading digital advertisements. No specific legislative amendments, implementation schedule or government response were detailed in the information accompanying the report.
The report sets out an agenda rather than confirming that the proposed measures have already been implemented. Its priorities include stronger attention to digital advertising, more coordinated management of government advertisements, proportional distribution of public welfare advertising and changes to advertising laws. The Board’s stated aim of controlling misleading material online is the clearest objective identified in connection with the digital advertising priority.
