The ASA study employed “CCTV-style” monitoring tools aimed at detecting online advertising related to gambling, alcohol, tobacco and weight control products among others.
The study found 159 age-restricted ads that broke the advertising rules, with 35 advertisers placing age-restricted ads on 34 websites and five YouTube channels aimed at or attracting a disproportionately large child audience.
High fat, sugar and salt edibles (HFSS) was the only category to score higher than gambling.
“The ASA is using technology to proactively monitor online ads to help build a culture of zero tolerance for age-restricted ads appearing on websites aimed at children,” said ASA chief executive Guy Parker.
“We expect advertisers and the parties they contract with to use the sophisticated tools available to them to target their ads responsibly. This is just one part of a wider set of initiatives we’re undertaking to ensure children are protected online and we’ll report on our further work in this area in the coming months.”
The offending gambling operators weren’t identified by name, nor was it clear that these operators were UK Gambling Commission licensees. The ASA said it followed up its study by contacting each company to ensure the ads were removed, issuing warnings that future transgressions won’t be tolerated.
This monitoring exercise is the first of four to pick up inappropriately advertised age-restricted ads. They will happen quarterly over the next year with the ASA pledging to report publicly on these figures, as well as compliance action taken against repeat offenders.
