[nickelcitymario]

It might not stop those people from doing whatever it is they want to do. But it helps us to be more informed. And when we're more informed, we can write better laws.

For example, it used to be perfectly legal to lie in advertising. But we became more informed, and we enacted new laws, and now you can't blatantly lie in an ad without risking being sued for it. You used to be able to say things like "Coca-Cola will make you slim." But since there's no actual benefit to drinking Coke other than quenching your thirst, that's the only benefit they'll ever promote anymore aside from taste.

Likewise, greater exposure might lead to laws that, say, require that Facebook only accept ads from companies who have a license to advertise. (I'm not advocating this, I'm just using it as an example.) Or to prove they're American if they want to advertise in America. Or something. Lots of possible ways to approach it.

But it starts with being able to see the problem clearly. And we can't do that when the data is hidden, obfuscated, protected, or simply doesn't exist.

[darkpuma]

Progress on legislating reform of the advertising industry has stalled. It remains perfectly legal for Coca Cola to suggest to an emotionally vulnerable child that drinking addictive sugar water will improve their social life. That's wrong, and more needs to be done about it. It's a problem that should be attacked from all conceivable angles. We need better laws (municipalities that have laws against billboards have the right idea), better adblocking technology, and more effective campaigns to identify, shame and shun people who work in the advertising industry. They should be social pariahs.