Watchdogs are promising a crackdown on social media adverts that promote alcohol, gambling and junk food to children.
The Advertising Standards Agency has unveiled a new plan to stop age-restricted ads making their way to phones and tablets of British children.
The regulator is looking to several new technologies, including AI, to tackle a new era of persuasive and personalised online adverts.
Guy Parker, chief executive of the advertising regulator, called on social media firms to do more to protect children.
Half of children aged 11 and 12 have a social media profile, despite most platforms’ minimum age being 13, according to research by the regulator Ofcom.
Watchdogs are promising a crackdown on social media adverts that promote alcohol, gambling and junk food to children (stock image)
Many lie about their age to access the platforms, exposing them to adverts explicitly targeted at adults.
Mr Parker said: ‘Online is already well over half of our regulation, but we’ve more work to do to take further steps towards our ambition of making every UK ad a responsible ad.
‘Everyone’s talking about online harms that I and everyone else thinks needs sorting out. We’ve been regulating online and this strategy is about getting better at regulating online.
‘The other part of it is making sure that the adverts children see are properly targeted, because often kids when they’re 11 or 12 will provide an inaccurate age to get on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
‘And so the platform them thinks they’re older than they are, and then the danger is they’re then served ads for products that aren’t appropriate.
‘It’s obvious that advertisers moving in this direction will need to be particularly careful about how they are targeting their adverts.
The Advertising Standards Agency has unveiled a new plan to stop age-restricted ads making their way to phones and tablets of British children (stock image)
‘We really need advertisers and social media providers to do the right thing.’
Developments in online marketing mean adverts can now be targetted based on your age, sex, location and internet history.
The sheer volume of online marketing content means the ASA can no longer rely on physical checks and reports from the public to police it.
The regulator said it is looking to use AI to scan through material for bogus claims or the targeting of children with adult material.