Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ban alcohol advertising online.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which operates independently of Government, is responsible for regulating online advertising in the UK through its advertising codes. These codes state that alcohol adverts must not link it with social or sexual success, imply that it is indispensable or include elements that appeal particularly to children. Online platforms have also introduced stringent measures to monitor alcohol ads and ensure safe advertising, such as age gating and age verification.

The Government’s Online Advertising Programme aims to increase protections for children and young people under 18 from online exposure to advertisements for products and services that are illegal to be sold to them, including alcohol. We will legislate when parliamentary time allows, and will publish a second consultation on the details of the framework in due course.