UK ministers will force online platforms like Google Ads, and intermediary AdTech platforms to stop children seeing adverts that contain alcohol or gambling. 

The move will also target fake celebrity scams and pop-up malware propagated by attackers to make the online ad industry “fit for the digital age”. 

This comes on the back of an update to the insights on “The 100 Children Report,” published late last year. The report aimed to provide insight on children’s exposure to age-restricted content online. This report cited 11,424 online ads showed to 97 children over a week, of which 435 were related to ads for alcohol gambling and other age restricted content.

Pop-ups, along with banners and displays on websites make up over £26 billion of the £34.8bn spent on advertising in the last year in the UK. The advertising industry in teh UK is expected to reach over £41bn by the end of this year according to a study, making it one of the highest spending countries in Europe.

The sheer number of ads, along with the complex supply chain attached to the industry, has made it challenging to prevent illegal ads from popping up across the internet. 

“Advertising is a huge industry in which Britain is a world leader. However, as online advertising has taken a steadily bigger share, the rules governing it have not kept pace,” said creative industries minister Sir John Whittingdale.

“Our plans will shut down the scammers using online adverts to con people out of their cash and will stop damaging and inappropriate products being targeted at children,” he continued. 

The new proposed regulations will require social media platforms, search engines, and other websites to implement systems that prevent these adverts from reaching users. This also includes paid-for ads by social media influencers. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the current regulatory body, however they are currently not allowed to address illegal advertisements in the same way they are allowed to address harmful advertising by legitimate businesses.

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The government said it will also launch further consultation into the details of potential legislation, which will not affect the ASA’s remit for the content and placement of legitimate paid-for advertising online.

“Eighty percent of fraud is cyber enabled and it often starts with fraudulent posts and adverts on social media. I am therefore pleased to see new measures being introduced to tackle these,” Anti-Fraud Champion Anthony Browne said.

“The government will continue to work with industry, and law enforcement, to prevent fraud from happening and ensure better support is given to the public.”