Digital ads: French MPs claim 鈥榬ight to pee in peace鈥�
A group of French MPs have demanded the right to 鈥済o to the toilet in peace鈥�, and hit out against intrusive digital advertising, after one MP objected to advertising screens in the toilet of a Paris caf茅.
This week (Wednesday November 6), several MPs that would give them the right to 鈥渦rinate in peace鈥�, and that would ban digital advertising from bathrooms in public spaces. These included the MPs Cl茅mentine Autain, Mathilde Panot, and Philippe Gosselin.
The : 鈥淚n the bathroom of this Paris caf茅, I was in the middle of going to the toilet, when, surprise, shock...20 centimetres from my eyes, just above the urinal, a screen makes itself known. Impossible to ignore this advertising.
鈥淗ow can we escape this luminous, moving, colourful message, which is placed above each urinal, on every door? Difficult to escape, unless you close your eyes, and risk a liquid accident鈥�
鈥淓ven here, even here, advertising takes up our available brain time! They follow us into the toilets!...Who does not appreciate this rare moment of peace, when [going to the toilet]?鈥�
The bill鈥檚 message is to fight against 鈥渢he invasion of screens into daily life鈥�. : 鈥淲e have to boot advertising out of the bathroom!鈥�.
It is demanding a change to the public health code, so that it would also include the phrase: 鈥淒igital advertising is banned in toilets [sanitary facilities] in establishments that are open to the public and in areas of work.鈥�
The proposal states that budgets in France for 鈥淒OOH鈥� advertising - an acronym meaning 鈥渄igital out-of-home鈥�, or any screen that is not in people鈥檚 own homes - have doubled in the past three years.
The bill will now be sent to the commission for social affairs to be evaluated.
