- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
There are outstanding changes not yet made by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team to Communications Act 2003. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
(1)From the beginning of [F21 October 2025], a person must not pay for advertisements for an identifiable less healthy food or drink product to be placed on the internet.
(2)Subsection (1) does not apply where the person paying is, at the time when the payment is made, a food or drink SME.
(3)Subsection (1) does not apply—
(a)in relation to advertisements which are directed solely at persons who are engaged in, or employed by, a business which involves or is associated with the manufacture or sale of food or drink,
(b)in relation to advertisements included in on-demand programme services (as to which, see section 368FA),
(c)in relation to advertisements included in services connected to regulated radio services, or
(d)in relation to advertisements which are not intended to be accessed principally by persons in any part of the United Kingdom.
(4)The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for further exemptions from the prohibition imposed by subsection (1).
(5)For the purposes of this section—
(a)paying includes providing any consideration (monetary or non-monetary);
(b)“placed” includes continues to be placed;
(c)paying for advertisements to be placed on the internet includes paying under a sponsorship agreement as result of which advertisements are placed on the internet;
(d)a product is “identifiable”, in relation to advertisements, if persons in the United Kingdom (or any part of the United Kingdom) could reasonably be expected to be able to identify the advertisements as being for that product;
(e)a food or drink product is “less healthy” if—
(i)it falls within a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and
(ii)it is “less healthy” in accordance with the relevant guidance;
(f)“the relevant guidance” is the guidance entitled “Nutrient Profiling Technical Guidance” published by the Department of Health on 1 January 2011;
(g)“food or drink SME” means a small or medium enterprise, within the meaning given by regulations made by the Secretary of State, of a description specified in the regulations;
(h)“services connected to regulated radio services” has the meaning given by regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(6)Regulations under subsection (5)(g) that make provision by reference to the number of members of staff of a person may make provision about who is to count as a member of staff (including members of staff of another person).
(7)The Secretary of State may, before the date specified in subsection (1)—
(a)amend that subsection so as to substitute a later date for the date that is for the time being specified there, and
(b)make corresponding amendments to the references to that date in subsections (11) and (12).
(8)The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this section to change the meaning of “the relevant guidance”.
(9)Before making regulations under subsection (4) or (8), the Secretary of State must consult such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(10)A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (8) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(11)A person is to be treated as having contravened subsection (1) if—
(a)at any time on or after 1 August 2021 but before [F31 October 2025], the person made a payment for advertisements to be placed on the internet on or after [F31 October 2025], and
(b)if the payment had been made on [F31 October 2025], the person would have contravened subsection (1).
(12)Subsection (11) does not apply if the person—
(a)has put in place arrangements to ensure that they are entitled to require that the advertisements are not placed on the internet on or after [F41 October 2025], and
(b)uses all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the advertisements are not so placed.]
Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 4C inserted (28.6.2022) by Health and Care Act 2022 (c. 31), s. 186(4), Sch. 18 para. 3
F2Words in s. 368Z14(1) substituted (31.12.2022) by The Communications Act 2003 (Restrictions on the Advertising of Less Healthy Food) (Effective Date) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1311), regs. 1(2), 2(4)(a)
F3Words in s. 368Z14(11) substituted (31.12.2022) by The Communications Act 2003 (Restrictions on the Advertising of Less Healthy Food) (Effective Date) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1311), regs. 1(2), 2(4)(b) (as amended by S.I. 2022/1381, reg. 2(2))
F4Words in s. 368Z14(12)(a) substituted (31.12.2022) by The Communications Act 2003 (Restrictions on the Advertising of Less Healthy Food) (Effective Date) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1311), regs. 1(2), 2(4)(c) (as amended by S.I. 2022/1381, reg. 2(2))
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: