Online Advertising Taskforce extended by 12 months

The Online Advertising Taskforce was created by the previous Government to explore how industry-led initiatives can help to address illegal advertising and improve protections for children from age-restricted ads online. Its focus is on improving the evidence base around harmful ads and enhancing industry-led initiatives to address them, as set out in the action plan published in November 2023. 

IAB UK sits on the Taskforce and leads the area of the action plan that is working to increase industry adoption of the IAB Gold Standard. You can find out more about the development of the Online Advertising Taskforce and how IAB UK contributes to it here. 

Sir Chris Bryant MP, the advertising Minister, has announced that the Taskforce will be extended by 12 months under the new Labour Government. He states: “I chaired a further meeting of the Taskforce on 4 November, at which we agreed updated terms of reference and a renewed focus for the next year. The continued work of the Taskforce and its working groups will be very important to help us understand and address the issues facing the online advertising sector, particularly those around trust and transparency. This will allow for further work in this area, with the work already completed enabling a sharper focus moving forward.”

The news comes as DCMS publishes the Online Advertising Taskforce’s Progress Report 2023-24, summarising work carried out since the publication of its Action Plan last year and setting out what will be delivered in the coming months.

In conjunction, DCMS has also published the results of its Online Advertising Experiences survey, produced with Ipsos. The report covers perceived exposure to illegal and misleading advertising online, including parental perception of child exposure. Bryant explains: “While this report provides useful evidence and takes us a step further in understanding online advertising behaviours, the Research Working Group, under the Taskforce, will assess how we can build on this evidence.”

 The decision to continue with the Taskforce is a move welcomed by IAB UK, with Christie Dennehy-Neil, Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, commenting: “Over the past year, we have made good progress by taking a coordinated and targeted approach to identify and promote industry-led solutions to reduce the risk of harmful ads online. It makes complete sense to extend the Taskforce to continue this valuable work.

 “Alongside Chris Bryant’s announcement, the DCMS research published today shows that around one in five respondents selected either ads for products or services which may not be appropriate for children, ads that could be misleading, and/or adverts for illegal products or services within their top concerns when they’re online.

 “By the industry and government continuing to work together through the Online Advertising Taskforce, we can address people’s concerns and help maintain a thriving and trusted ecosystem that protects consumers and ensures that digital advertising remains a UK success story.”