Who: UK government
Where: United Kingdom
When: 25 July 2023
Law stated as at: 15 August 2023
What happened:
The UK government has published a response to the consultation on the Online Advertising Programme, which was launched in March 2022. The programme aims to review the regulatory framework of paid-for online advertising. The government announced the launch of the Online Advertising Programme consultation alongside the introduction of the Online Safety Bill in Parliament in March 2022. The consultation focused solely on paid-for advertising and the most concerning harms associated with illegal advertising.
In its response the government considered that the targeted reform of the paid-for online advertising regulatory framework is needed. The particular areas of focus addressed in the government’s response are the following:
- Illegal advertising content, such as fraud and scams, the spread of malware, and ads for illegal products and services which are usually disseminated by bad or illegitimate actors as part of their criminal activities.
- Protection of children and young people against adverts for products and services that are illegal to be sold to them, such as alcohol, gambling, vapes and other products and services prohibited to be sold to them.
The intended changes would concern all platforms, intermediaries and publishers serving ads. These include apps, websites, social media platforms, search engines, adtech intermediary services. Influencers are in scope, as long as they receive payment or free products for promotion. Out of scope are owned media spaces, such as brands’ own websites and advertisers. The new proposal does not cover user-generated content captured by the Online Safety Bill and rules on high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products restrictions which are regulated by a separate regime.
The government suggests that in-scope platforms should “put in place proportionate systems and processes“, which would prevent users from seeing illegal content via ads on the services in scope and under 18s from encountering ads for products and services that are illegal to sell to them. The government expects platforms serving ads online to be proactive in tackling illegal ads and to “go beyond notice and takedown“.
A further consultation on the proposals outlined in the response is expected. In the meantime, a ministerial-led taskforce will engage stakeholders over the summer to provide a platform for discussion of the issues around illegal ads and the protection of children.
Why this matters:
The UK government’s response to the Online Advertising Programme indicates the government’s ongoing focus on paid-for online advertising, and its commitment to combat illegal content online and protect children and young people from encountering harmful content online. The envisaged changes are planned to be complementary to the upcoming Online Safety Bill, which tackles organic user-generated content and fraudulent advertising, and the existing Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which cover, among other things, misleading advertising.
