Who: UK Parliament, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 20 December 2023
Law stated as at: 5 February 2024
What happened:
The UK House of Commons Library published its “Advertising to children” briefing paper on 20 December 2023, looking at the current advertising regulatory system in the UK with a particular focus on advertising to children.
In particular the paper considered the role of the advertising codes enforced by the ASA, which include strict rules safeguarding children and young people from misleading, harmful, or offensive material. These rules prevent ads from depicting children in dangerous situations or encouraging risky behaviour as the ASA believes that children are more susceptible to the negative effects from inappropriate content. The rules also are in place in order to prevent ads from undermining parental authority or pressuring children to purchase products. The ASA’s role includes investigating complaints about ads and proactively monitoring and addressing any misleading or harmful content.
The debate on the impact of advertising on children has intensified in recent years, with much of the attention going on ads for foods high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) and their link to childhood obesity.
Between 2019 and 2020, the government consulted on proposals to extend restrictions on the advertising of HFSS products, aiming to reduce the number of adverts including these products that children are exposed to. In June 2021 the government published its response to both consultations, where they reported that from September 2019, almost half of all food adverts shown over the month across a number of well-known TV channels were HFSS products, rising to nearly 60% during the 6pm and 9pm slot. Their consultation response also discussed the Health and Care Act 2022, which mandates a 9pm watershed for HFSS food ads on television and UK on-demand programs and prohibits paid-for advertising of HFSS foods online. While the Health and Car Act received Royal Assent in April 2022, the government announced on 14 May 2022, that the implementation of these advertising restrictions would be postponed, and they are now scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2025.
The House of Commons Library’s briefing paper also explores the Online Safety Act 2023, which aims to safeguard children and combat illegal and harmful online content in addition to the work of the ASA. The Online Safety Act includes provisions addressing fraudulent adverts in user-to-user and search services, and that service providers must implement appropriate systems to mitigate the risk of users encountering fraudulent ads. The government expects these measures to enhance protection against fraudulent online advertising for children and others.
Why this matters:
The government’s briefing paper underscores the important work that regulation does when protecting children against harmful content in advertising. It also highlights the increased focus the UK government currently have on the safety of children online and the increased regulation that will be coming into place in the near future. It is important for all companies to understand the current regulation that surrounds advertising in order to ensure the safety of children online and to be prepared for any future legislations coming down the pipeline.
