Covington Releases Paper on Neuromarketing's Legal and Policy Issues

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Covington & Burling has published a white paper about the growing legal and policy issues that neuromarketing raises for the advertising industry and corporations around the globe.

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Neuromarketing involves the use of neuroscience research to shape advertising and marketing strategies so that brands connect with consumers in deeper and more lasting ways. As neuroscience techniques expand, there is growing concern among government regulators and consumer advocates that these new marketing tools will produce new forms of consumer deception and erode privacy rights.

The advances in consumer tracking brought on by the Internet Age have increased public concern, given advocacy groups more powerful arguments to support their longstanding critique of industry practices, and prompted government regulators and multilateral health standard-setting bodies to take notice.

The white paper summarizes the main legal and policy issues raised by this new technology and provides a high-level overview of the challenges the industry faces as more advertisers begin to rely on the new techniques, as the public becomes more aware of the implications for consumer protection and privacy rights, and as governments consider the feasibility of regulating this new marketing practice.

About the Authors:

Theodore Voorhees is a litigation partner in the firm's Washington, DC office and a member of the Antitrust and Consumer Law Practice Group. In the field of consumer protection, Mr. Voorhees has advised clients regarding advertising and marketing matters before the Federal Trade Commission, as well as product safety and recall matters subject to the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration.

Daniel Spiegel, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Europe, is senior of counsel and Foreign Legal Consultant for the firm's Seoul office. He regularly counsels multinational corporations on complex market entry strategies in Asia and other regions.

Daniel Cooper advises clients on information technology regulatory issues, particularly data protection, e-commerce and data security matters. Mr. Cooper regularly assists leading technology companies, including social networking sites, online content and entertainment providers, and e-shopping sites, on their European and global compliance strategies. He also has deep experience with the regulation of mobile and e-health technologies.

If you are interested in additional information, please email [email protected].

CONTACT: Rebecca Carr, 202-662-5110

SOURCE Covington & Burling