China's official broadcaster could face penalties if a Beijing regulator finds that dozens of commercials that went to air last month on CCTV contravene the city's rules on unauthorised surveys and rankings.

The Beijing Advertising Monitoring Centre released a report on Tuesday saying China Central Television aired 34 commercials last month with unauthorised rankings of businesses, products and services -- surveys which the authorities say are likely to mislead consumers.It said the advertisements were mostly for textile products and investment opportunities.

An official said: "Only rankings issued by central institutions or authorised organisations can be used in advertisements. Businesses are not allowed to publicise the results of self-sponsored surveys or research."The official said no action had been taken up to stop the advertisements because they were only suspected infractions. Further checks would be made by the Beijing Industry and Commerce Bureau's Advertising Department, the agency with the power to mete out punishment. "If these advertisements are confirmed as illegal, CCTV will be penalised," she said. CCTV had its own censorship department and should take responsibility for the advertising content it broadcast.

On August 1, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and State Administration of Radio, Film and Television banned promotions for breast augmentation, weight loss and medical products. But the bid to stop commercials containing deceptive and exaggerated claims was ignored by more than 10 provincial stations.

Source:佚名