On 25 September 2025, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) published its updated guidance on age-restricted online ads (the Guidance) which aims to assist not only marketers, but also agencies, media owners and other parties, on how they can target age-restricted online ads more responsibly and comply with the CAP Code. In other words, the Guidance is clearly a nod to the position that all parties involved in the marketing of age-restricted ads must comply with the CAP Code.

Age-restricted ads

Generally, ads that feature products that are subject to: (i) legal restrictions on their sale to U16s / U18s; or (ii) certain policies that restrict their exposure to certain age groups, are required to be targeted responsibly. The table below outlines the CAP’s position of such products.

Note: Ads that feature e-cigarettes (as well as e-cigarette refill containers), instant formula, tobacco and / or prescription-only medicines in third-party paid-for space are not permitted.

Updates made in the Guidance

The Guidance itself does not materially deviate or introduce new rules in comparison to the previous November 2022 version. On that basis, the core principles remain, which for ease of reference, include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. age-restricted ads must not appear in or alongside media where children / young people form more than 25% of the audience (the 25% Rule);
2. marketers must be able to demonstrate they have taken appropriate and reasonable steps to evidence their compliance with the 25% Rule when placing age-restricted ads;
3. in the context of untargeted advertising (i.e., organic marketing communications[1]), marketers are reminded the 25% Rule would still apply (and it is advisable to have in place audience restriction settings for example);
4. in the context of age-based targeting, age data alone would not satisfy the requirements of the CAP Code (given the likelihood of children and young persons accessing shared devices or misreporting their age). Marketers are encouraged to use age-verification tools which should be supplemented by interest-based and / or behavioural targeting techniques to ensure youth interests / trends are avoided; and
5. when collaborating with influencers and content creators, marketers should generally avoid those that have unverified audience demographics or those that are likely to have a strong appeal to youth culture.

A salient point to note in the updated Guidance is that marketers are advised to work with all parties involved in the supply and / or placement of age-restricted ads in order “to lessen the chances of age-restricted ads appearing in contexts disproportionately popular with children”. For example, the Guidance now indicates that:

• publishers should ensure affiliate partners are complying with the CAP Code, and are also encouraged to routinely monitor audience profiles in order to accurately categorise themselves; and
• platform and intermediaries should have mechanisms in place that categorises or filters age-restricted ads, and they should endeavour to place fewer limitations on the availability of targeting tools that assist marketers with complying with the 25% Rule.

Commentary

As the industry prepares for the introduction of the new restrictions on advertising ‘Less Healthy Foods’ (LHF) which take effect from 1 October 2025, the Guidance is certainly a timely reminder to marketers about the rules relating to age-restricted ads that appear online (especially given that paid for ads featuring identifiable LHF products will be subject to the online ban).

It goes without saying, marketers should ensure they have appropriate contractual measures in place that ensures all parties in the supply of age-restricted ads are complying with the Code. In addition, marketers should actively make sure they have appropriate auditing practices in place that can evidence the steps taken to limit the exposure of age-restricted products to U16s / U18s – which is certainly helpful if your age-restricted ad is the subject of an ASA complaint.

Whilst the Guidance encourages marketers to use a combination of age-verification measures as well as behavioural and / or interest-based targeting techniques to lessen the likelihood of age-restricted ads being seen by U16s / U18s, marketers are also reminded of the privacy obligations they may have as it relates to collecting, processing and analysing personal data (which would include age, browsing habits etc), and the need to act in accordance with the UK GDPR. The use of age-verification technologies (which may be supplemented by behavioural and / or interest-based data) may involve additional privacy risks, especially if such practices are deemed intrusive and are done so without obtaining consent.

We frequently advise on aspects of age-restricted ads and privacy concerns relating to targeting and age-verification measures, so please do get in touch if you have any further questions.

To read the Guidance, see here.

References

[1] The CAP categories organic marketing communications into two categories: (i) those published by marketers themselves on their platform (e.g., website or social media page); or (ii) paid-organic content published by a third-party on behalf of the marketer (e.g., influencers, content creators and affiliates).