Promoters need to be more aware of their obligations to run responsible campaigns when it comes to online marketing and young people, according to the Byron Review report published today (March 27).

Its author, Dr Tanya Byron (pictured), has recommended that the advertising industry works with media owners to raise awareness among advertisers of the need to abide by the CAP Code and be responsible when going out to under-18s on the internet.

“In discussions with the Byron Review, media owners raised concerns about the lack of understanding from advertisers of their obligations under the CAP Code,” she said, adding that the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) was already looking at ways to raise awareness and help “traditional” advertisers to understand how they could meet their CAP Code obligations online.

Byron added that one area that raised particular concerns was the marketing of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). “Several stakeholders felt companies were taking advantage of children’s vulnerability through attractive child-friendly techniques that children were unlikely to understand as commercial material,” she said.

Byron praised the establishment of the Advertising Association’s Digital Media Group, the industry-initiated taskforce that is reviewing the current self-regulatory system for digital advertising. Her recommendations included an appeal for this group, as well as CAP, to continue their reviews “to ‘future-proof’ the current regulatory system, especially in relation to digital advertising”.

However, she also called on them to consider how promotional marketing in non-paid-for online space could be brought within the regulatory framework for advertising, in line with principles on the prevention of harmful and offensive advertising to children outlined in the CAP Code.

The Byron Review report, Safer Children in a Digital World, recommends a package of measures to protect children and young people from harmful and inappropriate material when using the internet and video games. Byron is a TV psychologist, best known for Little Angels and House of Tiny Tearaways.

Byron pointed out that stricter rules should apply to brands inhabiting the space used by younger people. “Children and young people are unlikely to understand the complexities of online advertising and therefore are more likely to trust and believe a website’s contents because it has got valued brands wrapped around it,” she said.

The report also made recommendations about how video games are promoted, calling for the government to research whether they are being advertised responsibly in line with age ratings. Byron said it should also look at the role of marketing in stimulating children and young people to want to play video games that are not appropriate to their age.

She called for a consistency of approach by the video games industry and the advertising industry, suggesting that there should be CAP guidance on this category.

Her report also recommended an industry campaign to help inform parents and children about the age rating system, including improved information at point of sale such as posters, shelf strips, audio-visual ads on TV screens or audio announcements in stores.

Baroness Buscombe, chief executive of the Advertising Association, which represents the Institute of Sales Promotion and other trade associations, said: “The review highlights the important work undertaken by the Advertising Association’s Digital Media Group and recognises that the industry project for future-proofing self-regulation of advertising on digital media is well under way.

“Furthermore, by recommending awareness campaigns, she demonstrates how the positive power of advertising will continue to help close the digital divide by creating informed consumers and giving everyone the opportunity to become a digital native.”