Government Announces Tougher Rules Targetting Illegal Ads and Fake Celebrity Scams

Meta Platforms Inc.'s logo is seen on a smartphone in an illustration picture taken on Oct. 28, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

New rules regulating online advertising will target fake celebrity scams and illegal weapons adverts to protect consumers, the government has announced.

The Department for Culture said on Tuesday it will introduce legislative and regulatory measures to curb the most serious risks linked to online advertising.

Social media networks will have to make sure children are not exposed to ads for alcohol, gambling and adult-rated films and games. Social platforms, such as Meta, will be required by law to ensure that their underage users don’t see adverts for illegal products and services. The same will apply to search engines, services such as Google Ads, and websites displaying paid-for online adverts.

The government will target fake celebrity endorsements for financial scams and pop-up malware from hackers. The new legislation will ban promotions of weapons, drugs, counterfeit fashion and fake ticketing.

UK consumers have lost more than £6.7 million to ticket fraud in 2002, according to Advice Direct Scotland. The agency advised fans to use “proper channels” and avoid buying tickets on social media for the next year’s Taylor Swift Scottish shows.

Government regulation of online advertising needs to keep up with the swiftly growing and expanding market, creative industries minister Sir John Whittingdale said.

“Our plans will shut down the scammers using online adverts to con people out of their cash and will stop damaging and inappropriate products being targeted at children,” Mr. Whittingdale announced.

The government plans were published in response to its Online Advertising Programme that last year had reviewed how the UK regulates paid-for online advertising.

The programme intended to equip regulators with “good sight” of what is happening across the supply chain, “where highly personalised adverts are being delivered at speed and scale.”

The announcement of new rules comes on the back of the programme and amid the rise of “deepfake” adverts.

Deepfake ads use artificial intelligence technology to replicate a celebrity or influencer’s face to make it seem like they are endorsing a certain product or service.

Earlier this month, UK consumer finance champion Martin Lewis called on the government and the regulators to step up when a deep fake ad of him appeared on Facebook.

The ad showed Mr. Lewis promoting an investment opportunity supposedly backed by Elon Musk.

Mr. Lewis called the ad “frightening” and warned it could lead people to lose their money and ruin their lives.

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Meta’s policy is to reduce the spread of misinformation includes fact-checking and clearly labelling “hoaxes that have no basis in fact.” The new regulations will increase the pressure on the social media giant to regulate the content it circulates.

Ministers will launch a new task force to gather more information about illegal advertising and increase protections before legislation is introduced.

Consumer groups and the government’s anti-fraud champion, Anthony Browne, who will be part of the taskforce, welcomed the new measures.

“Eighty percent of fraud is cyber-enabled and it often starts with fraudulent posts and adverts on social media,” Mr. Browne said.

The government also plans to cover promotional posts by social media influencers, a commonly used practice where they receive payment or free products for promoting a product or a service.

Last year, online advertising accounted for three quarters or £26.1 billion of the £34.8 billion spent on advertising in the UK.

Mark Lund, chair of the Advertising Standards Board of Finance called UK advertising “a dynamic engine for the economy.”

The crackdown on illegal advertising complements the Online Safety Bill, said the government. The bill, in its final stages of approval, targets user-generated content and intends to make social media companies more responsible for their users’ safety.

Advertisers will be able to give feedback on government proposals to ensure that innovation in the sector is not stifled.