Overview

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been prominent in its enforcement activities recently and has been given a new lease of life today with the launch of long-awaited Advertising Codes for the UK. Improved versions of both the CAP Code (non-broadcast) and the BCAP Code (broadcast), many of whose provisions took effect on 1 September 2010, extend the ASA's remit beyond traditional media.

- New rules cover Facebook and Twitter

The new CAP Code covers online advertisements and other marketing communications, both on advertisers' websites and "in other non paid-for space online under their control". The ASA's foray into the digital world is long overdue - over half of all complaints to the ASA last year related to online advertisements which were, at that time, outside its remit - and has huge implications for online advertisers as well as social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In particular, advertisers will need to be cautious about adopting user-generated content on social networking sites as such content may now be seen as a marketing communication and will therefore be subject to regulation.

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