The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have announced the launch of a new five-year strategy, which sees the regulator putting significantly more emphasis on the regulation of online ads.
Launched in Manchester today, the new strategy is a response to increased investment in online advertising and the reality that online ads accounted for '88% of the 7099 ads either amended or withdrawn in 2017'.
As part of their commitment to strengthening the regulation of online ads, the ASA will explore how both data-driven intelligence and machine learning can be used to improve the online eco-system.
In addition, the strategy also aims to protect the vulnerable and limit children's exposure to age-restricted ads, while making it easier for people to flag their concerns about particular ads.
Chairman of the ASA, Lord Currie, said “the new strategy will ensure that protecting consumers remains at the heart of what we do but that our system is also fit for purpose when regulating newer forms of advertising. This also means harnessing new technology to improve our ways of working in identifying problem ads.”
The full six-point strategy aims to:
- Put people first
- Improve the regulation of online advertising
- Include new methods such as machine learning to make the process more effective
- Seek better buy-in from online-only advertisers
- Improve how the ASA identifies and removes irresponsible ads
- Demonstrate the effectiveness of independent, self-regulation.
The full corporate strategy is available to view here >