United Kingdom: Closed consultation on Online Advertising Programme

On 8 June 2022, the United Kingdom Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport closed the public consultation on the Online Advertising Programme (OAP). The consultation was opened on 9 March 2022 and was originally scheduled to close on 1 June 2022. The OAP will analyse the current regulatory framework of paid-for online advertising in order to increase transparency and accountability in the sector. The consultation aims to gather information on best practices to address the lack of transparency in the paid online advertising industry and identify how to strengthen regulatory oversight. The goal is to increase regulatory power in a proportionate matter to combat harms but not stifle innovation in the online advertising sector. The two main harms identified in the OAP are the harmful content of advertisements and the harmful placement or targeting of advertisements. The OAP thus proposes several measures applying to advertisers, intermediaries, publishers, and platforms to increase transparency towards the regulator and the public. The OAP further differentiates three potential policy approach levels, namely a self-regulatory approach, a statutory regulator which backstops the self-regulatory approach, or a full statutory approach.