The Regulation of Pop-up ads with Obscene Content

The Internet has improved people’s life by providing quick and easy access to huge amount of information that continuously updates. However, this powerfully immersive environment also creates new problems. Specifically, 97.8% of the dissemination of obscenity now happens on the Internet. Moreover, the pop-up ads suddenly appearing at any websites and cluttering the computer screen has become a great bugbear of the Internet. Pop-up ads remain a dynamic and influential tool for marketers due to their low cost and push interactions. Based on the surveys, 80% of the pop-up ads have obscene content which causes the antipathy of most people. In China, Advertising Law establishes limits to the pop-up ads which are a close mark shall be conspicuously indicated, and closing the advertisement by only one click shall be ensured. However, this regulation does not have an significant effect on pop-up ads as it is supposed to because of some defects, including the lack of deterrence by serious punishment, the dislocation of the subject of responsibility, the failure of social forces to play an auxiliary role, and the high cost of litigation. Therefore, in order to explore the effective regulation of pop-up ads with obscene content, this essay uses the methods of normative analysis and case analysis. It analyzes the shortcomings of existing Chinese laws on pop-up ads with obscene content and learns from the experience of other countries and finally proposes to regulate pop-up ads with obscene content by the joint efforts of Criminal Law and Advertising Law.