ASA denies bug problem

A public sector regulatory authority is bucking government policy by denying the millennium bug is a 'major problem' and threatening to rap the knuckles of anybody that claims it is.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told three companies recently that they are not allowed to describe the millennium bug as a serious problem.

It stated: 'The Authority understood from expert advice that most PCs would not be affected; those that would would probably suffer only a minor problem, not crash entirely.'

Prime Minister Tony Blair has previously said in Parliament: 'The millennium bug is a serious issue. It could cause problems for our companies, particularly smaller ones. It is necessary that they realise that if they do not change their systems, they will face great difficulties.'

The ASA stance, which is in direct opposition to the government line, has upset the government body Action 2000. But the ASA refused to change its position and Action 2000 refused to fight in public with another government agency.

One advertiser banned from advertising major millennium bug problems, Scotland Direct (Holdings), has stopped selling the Prove It 2000 software fix and diagnostic for which it was a national supplier.

Arthur Bell, manager at Scotland Direct, said: 'We haven't run the advertisement again so if people's computers blow up, that's their problem. They obviously live in a world without computers.'

Another offending advertisement for the Span 2000 product was a compilation of headlines from national newspapers, including 'Official: computer time bomb will "wreck" business.'

The authority warned advertisers not to use newspaper headlines unless it could prove the claims. A representative for the ASA said the authority had no plans to change its policy, formed after consultation with some computer publications and the former Tory millennium action group, Taskforce 2000.