Online ban for junk food ads aimed at kids
December 9, 2016
Online ads for food and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar aimed at children are set to be banned under new rules from advertisers. The Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP) said its restrictions would also apply to all other media where under-16s made up a quarter of the audience.
The rules are an attempt to help tackle obesity when children are spending more time online than ever before. CAP said the move would lead to “a major reduction” in the number of “junk food” ads seen by children on platforms such as YouTube.
It added the new rules would bring non-broadcast media in line with TV rules introduced in 2007, which restricted the advertising of junk food during children’s TV programmes.