Advertisements for junk food will soon be banned from the children's video-streamed online under the new guideline. Advertisements for unhealthy foods are initially removed from the television.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is the one responsible for the rules being set regarding the advertisements in the United Kingdom. They will soon launch a public consultation on the issue, according to BBC.
If approved, the new guidelines will affect the content of video streaming sites like ITV Hub and YouTube. Ofcom, a broadcasting regulator is the one that introduced the strict rules that banned the advertisements for food high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) on TV shows for children under 16 years old in 2007.
The rules were enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). ASA regulates "non-broadcast" advertisements like online streaming and billboard.
Guy Parker, ASA chief executive said that the new rule would close the loophole that bans HFSS from being shown on children's programs but not on the internet. The new guidelines are needed since more children are watching more programs aimed at their age group on video streaming sites, as reported by Mirror.
During a seminar, Parker told the Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum that there was "a growing consensus about the role of advertising, self-regulation helping to bring about change in the nature and balance of food advertising to children."
He said that he was happy because he was able to "explain 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."
There were 13,477 complaints recorded regarding more than 10,000 digital ads in the UK in 2014. Junk foods are one of the main causes of obesity and other health complications in children and adults.
