The proposals are part of the Government’s tackling obesity strategy launched in July 2020. The Government says that evidence shows that exposure to HFSS advertising can affect what children eat and when they eat, both in the short term by increasing the amount of food children eat immediately after being exposed to an advert, and by shaping longer-term food preferences from a young age.

In 2019, the Government consulted on restricting advertising of HFSS for TV and online. It asked for views on whether to extend current advertising restrictions on broadcast TV and online media, including consulting on watershed restrictions. In July 2020 the government confirmed its intention to introduce a 9pm watershed on TV.

This new consultation goes further and looks at how a total HFSS advertising restriction could be implemented online. The Government says it should be read with the 2019 consultation. The consultation aims to gather views from the public and industry stakeholders to understand the impact and challenges of introducing such a total ban. It asks questions on:

• what types of advertising will be restricted;
• who will be liable for compliance; and
• enforcement of the restrictions.

The consultation closes on 22 December 2020. To read the Government press release, click here. To access the new consultation, click here. To access the 2019 consultation, click here.