SD9 - Advertising and Private Sector Sponsorships on State Websites


Executive Summary:
Serious questions about ethics and potential conflicts of interest would certainly dictate that advertising on government websites should generally be dismissed out of hand. While there may be some particular websites (special projects and events, for example) where private sector sponsorships may be acknowledged, nonetheless, intrusive or distracting advertising on Commonwealth websites is not acceptable.

The current administration is developing initiatives that will ban outright the use of pop-up and banner advertising and will substantively limit those few state-related websites where it may be appropriate to acknowledge sponsorships with subtle logos.

Recommendations:

1) Pop-up and banner advertising should not be allowed under any circumstances.

2) Logos, in the few instances where they might be appropriate for acknowledging sponsorship dollars, should never present a distraction for the citizen using the site and should not slow the transaction time.

3) Such sponsorships should only be allowed where related to special events or projects, not for the development of routine citizen services on the web.