The capital’s media department has banned outdoor advertising distributors from using QR codes on billboards. Authorities believe this could lead to violations of the law amid hacker attacks, and experts say there are risks of fraud.
The Moscow Department of Media and Advertising has prohibited outdoor advertising distributors from using QR codes on billboards, public transport stops and other structures.
A copy of the corresponding fax, sent by the department to advertising distributors on December 7, 2023, is at the disposal of RBC.
The ban, as stated in the fax, is due to the fact that the QR code, which works as a link to an Internet resource “containing various and subject to change content,” may contain information that violates the Law “On Advertising.” This problem, according to the department, is especially relevant in the context of hacker attacks and hacking of information systems and websites.
“Violation of advertising legislation by individuals or legal entities entails administrative liability,” the department reminds, however, the fax does not specify which provisions of the law this concerns.
Technology and media
The press service of the largest outdoor advertising operator Russ confirmed to RBC that it had received the letter. “Taking into account the increase in hacker attacks, attempts to hack systems, redirection and falsification of QR codes on already posted layouts, we consider such recommendations to be legitimate,” Russ said. The company also clarified that only 2% of billboards have QR codes.
Another operator of outdoor advertising and advertising on media facades, the Maer media holding, also received the letter, its general director and owner Konstantin Mayor told RBC. “The owner of the billboards will have to dismantle the advertising; this harmful content cannot be removed in a matter of seconds, nor can it be changed by pressing a button,” Major points out. However, Maer itself does not use paper media in its work, so any changes can be made online, says the CEO of the media holding. “Besides, we practically don’t use QR because we don’t see the point in it. Even if the customer is persistent, we explain that the conversion will be negligible.”
The major also recalled the existence of “uniform standards for protection against hacking and similar incidents.” “We implement many of our own solutions and have implemented a multi-stage system of protection against any external interference, which allows us to protect our audience,” he states.
The press service of the Moscow Department of Media and Advertising refused to comment on the issue of the directive to advertising distributors, “since it is related to the current activities of the department, aimed at strict compliance with current legislation
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