Policy News

The IAB works to build a sustainable future for digital advertising, which means promoting best practice in regulation and standards and engaging with policy makers across government

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Supporting SMEs, regions and the digital advertising ecosystem

SMEs’ trust in digital advertising increases by almost 50% vs 2020

New research shows SMEs trust in digital advertising has grown significantly since 2020. Small & medium sized businesses’ trust in digital advertising has risen by 24 percentage points in the past three years with 74% in total now saying they trust it - an almost 50% increase on 2020’s trust levels according to a new study.

IAB UK member at a policy event

Our policy vision

The IAB's vision for effective regulation is that the right standards and tools are in place, with buy-in across the digital advertising supply chain, so that businesses can identify responsible partners and uphold best practices. The IAB Gold Standard sits at the heart of this framework of industry-led regulation.

Latest News

Here you can view all of the material published by our policy team as well as general news updates from IAB UK. 

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FAQs: The Online Advertising Taskforce’s Action Plan

The Taskforce has published its Action Plan detailing how industry and government will collaborate to address illegal ads and protect children from harmful ads. Head to our FAQs for more information on the steps outlined and how we will be working with our members to deliver on the objectives - including bolstering support for the Gold Standard.

Our Priorities

We engage with policy-makers and regulators to monitor and respond to all relevant developments affecting digital advertising, helping to tackle the challenges the industry faces. You can find all of our priority areas of work below. 

DCMS

Online Advertising Policy

Our communications with DCMS, the lead department for advertising policy, including our response to its review of online advertising regulation.

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Legislation

Read about the Online Safety Bill, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill as well as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.

Parliament

Public Affairs

Discover how we've proactively engaged policy-makers, including regularly hosting events in Parliament as well as participation in debates.

TCF

Transparency & Consent Framework

See all of our up-to-date information on IAB Europe's Transparency and Consent Framework. 

ICO

Data, Privacy and the ICO

Our work responding to the Information Commissioner’s Office report into ad tech and real time bidding, the Direct Marketing Code of Practice and the Age Appropriate Design Code. 

Consultation Responses

Consultation Responses

A library of our responses to consultations from various government departments, select committees and regulators.

Gold Standard logo

Gold Standard

Our own industry standard is The Gold Standard, which is open to all IAB UK members who buy and sell digital media.

ASA

Self-Regulation

A handy primer on UK’s self-regulatory framework for advertising content and placement, covering the CAP Code and how the ASA works.

CMA

Markets & Competition

Our engagement with the Competition and Markets Authority's study into competition in digital markets and online advertising, and the Government’s response. 

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HFSS online ad ban

Read our work on the online ad ban of ads for products high in fat, sugar and salt. 

GDPR

GDPR & Privacy

All of our past and present work on privacy-related issues, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation. 

An Overview of the UK’s Digital Advertising Industry

Download an overview of how digital advertising works, its economic benefits and how it is currently regulated 

Read it now
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Get in touch

If you have any further questions on any of our policy and regulatory affairs work, feel free to contact our policy team.

Rediscover the joy of digital advertising

Champion connections instead of clicks. Capture audiences' imaginations, not just their attention. Boldly move to your own beat instead of letting tech set the pace. It’s time to rediscover the joy of digital.