Online Advertising Taskforce: Progress and Plans for 2026

The question

What are the key implications of the UK government’s Online Advertising Taskforce progress report (covering activity in 2025 and plans for 2026–2027) for major online platforms and ad tech intermediaries?

The key takeaway

The Online Advertising Taskforce's work is evolving from laying out broad principles to undertaking measurable implementation action.  Platforms and intermediaries will be expected to support CAP Code compliance more operationally, share intelligence to disrupt malvertising, strengthen age-restricted targeting controls, and adopt clearer governance for AI-generated advertising and influencer marketing. In this context, transparency, accountability and evidence of controls will be key.

The background

The Online Advertising Taskforce (Taskforce) - a joint initiative between the UK government and the digital advertising industry - was established in 2023 to improve transparency and accountability in online advertising, reduce harms and illegal ads, and limit children’s exposure to age‑restricted marketing.  It operates against a backdrop where online advertising accounts for around £4 in every £5 of UK ad spend, with total 2025 spend at around £46 billion. Online advertising is also recognised as a “frontier” growth sector in the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan. The Taskforce is chaired by the DCMS, and is comprised of advertising trade bodies, (such as the Advertising Association (AA) and the Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB)), key industry players and platforms, as well as regulators (such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)).

The development

The 2025 progress report and 2026 roadmap highlight transparency as the central theme, with a focus on reducing fraud, limiting harmful or misleading content and protecting children. The AI working group (chaired by the AA) has published a Best Practice Guide on the safe and ethical use of generative AI in advertising.  This was launched at AA's annual summit, LEAD, in February 2026, with separate versions for large businesses and SMEs and a one-page explainer. The ASA‑led Intermediary and Platform Principles (IPP) build on a 2022–2023 pilot with major platforms and now informs the development of a framework to be integrated into the self‑regulatory system, with the IPP launch targeted for summer 2026. Anti-fraud activity includes the international real-time data sharing initiative (the Global Signal Exchange (GSE)) pilot for malvertising data as well as a new Ad Fraud and Standards group to gap‑analyse existing mechanisms.

Next steps: 2026–2027 will see the IPP implemented, AI guidance promoted, fraud standards mapped, the GSE pilot evaluated, and age‑assurance and influencer initiatives expanded.

Why is this important?

Although not legislation, the Taskforce's programme will set de facto expectations for how large platforms design and operate online advertising systems in the UK. The IPP will position intermediaries as visible enforcement partners for CAP Code compliance, with structured reporting into the ASA on repeat non-compliant advertisers. Separately, AI guidance and trust metrics are likely to influence standards of acceptable use of generative tools and emerging norms on transparency and labelling. Fraud workstreams and the GSE pilot point towards higher expectations for platforms to deploy robust anti‑fraud controls and cooperate with peers and law enforcement.

Any practical tips?

• Large online platforms should map existing policies, tooling and governance against the emerging frameworks to identify gaps early.
• For AI, benchmark generative ad tools and controls against the AA's Best Practice Guide; build labelling capability and prepare to evidence AI‑related trust metrics.
• Intermediary companies should review CAP Code enforcement workflows, escalation pathways and transparency reporting in anticipation of IPP‑driven expectations and seek closer engagement with the ASA.
• To meet anti-fraud expectations, companies should plan for deeper participation in signal‑sharing schemes such as the GSE, ensuring competition, privacy and data‑protection assessments support scaled participation and potential law‑enforcement collaboration.
• Businesses marketing age-restricted products or services should audit current age-assurance mechanisms and targeting controls against emerging best practice, and prepare to evidence compliance as the Taskforce's age-assurance workstream matures.

Summer 2026