A/69/286 33. The issue of consent needs to be included in discussions about the impact of advertising and marketing strategies on human rights. For example, some people claim a right not to receive advertising, 11 while others call for provisions to opt out from exposure to advertising and for the development of software to block online advertising. 12 34. More generally, it is often claimed that consumers relinquish their privacy and consent to becoming targets of advertising, in particular digital advertising, to benefit from lower prices for products and services. The Special Rapporteur notes, however, that in many cases consumers and citizens are not fully aware that their privacy is being breached or to what extent and what this entails in terms of their freedom of thought and opinion. B. Concentration of media and of advertising groups 35. The right to information and the right to participate in cultural life imply the possibility of gaining access to diverse information, opinions and cultural expressions, as well as a plurality of media sources. Concentration of ownership of media industries is on the increase, however, diminishing the diversity of media content and plurality of programmes in cultural, social and political terms. 13 Both the Human Rights Committee (see CCPR/C/GC/34, para. 40) and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression (see, e.g., A/HRC/26/30, paras. 66-68) have expressed their concerns on this issue. 36. Countries have adopted measures to limit media concentration and protect media pluralism, in particular by promoting diversity of content or establishing a “must carry” principle, requiring, for example, that cable television systems dedicate some of their channels to local broadcasting stations. 37. These issues merit further inquiry and attention, given the increased dependency of print and audiovisual media on advertising reven ue coupled with the increased concentration of advertising groups. A few groups have enormous power in negotiating advertising spaces, favouring media that best fit the interests of their client companies, meaning media that do not depict their clients neg atively and proactively promote a suitable environment to enhance the consumption of their products and/or services. This can result in wide self-censorship of journalists and media owners, having a significant impact on editorial cont ent and cultural programming. 14 __________________ 11 12 13 14 14-58963 Jean Morange, “Affichage publicitaire et liberté d’expression: éléments de réflexion”, 2007, and Maurice Pergnier, “Espace publicitaire et espace public: éléments de réflexion”, 2006. Jon Alexander, Tom Crompton and Guy Shrubsole, “Think of me as evil? Opening the ethical debates in advertising”, Public Interest Research Centre and WWF-UK, 2011. Zrinjka Perusko and Helena Popoviç, “Media concentration trends in Central and Eastern Europe” in Karol Jakubowicz, Miklós Sükösd (eds.), Finding the Right Place on the Map: Central and Eastern European Media Change in a Global Perspective . See also A/HRC/14/23/Add.2. Marie Bénilde, On achète bien les cerveaux: la publicité et les médias, Paris, Raisons d’agir, 2007, chaps. 3 and 4, and Lawrence Soley, “Private censorship, corporate power”, in Robert Atkins and Svetlana Mintcheva (eds.), Censoring Culture: Contemporary Threats to Free Expression, 2006. 9/26