Online adverts for junk food could soon be banned in UK

Children’s programmes on the internet look set to be free of junk food adverts soon, with new guidelines set to ban these advertisements.
This would result in the closing of a loophole which sees adverts for fatty food and sugary food being banned from children’s television programmes, but not banned from the internet, according to the chief executive of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Guy Parker.
Mr Parker said he had been frequently questioned over “why our ad codes ban the targeting of a sugary food ad around Peppa Pig on linear TV but don’t ban that same ad appearing in or around that same episode of Peppa Pig when that episode is shown online,” and looked forward to not having to answer such questions any longer.
Foods which are considered unhealthy – those high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) – have been banned from being advertised during TV programmes which are seen as appealing to children up to the age of 16. This rule was introduced back in 2007 by Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, and is enforced by the ASA.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body which drafts the rules for UK advertisers, will be holding a public consultation on the matter soon, before publishing the findings from it.