The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator of advertising across all UK media. It applies the Advertising Codes written by the Committees of Advertising Practice to handle complaints and proactively check ads, taking action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. The UK Advertising Codes establish rules for advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow, including general responsibilities and restrictions on ads targeting children or specific sectors like alcohol and gambling.

1. The role of the ASA
The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s
independent regulator of advertising across all media.
We apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by
the Committees of Advertising Practice. Our work
includes acting on complaints and proactively checking
the media to take action against misleading, harmful or
offensive advertisements.
The UK Advertising Codes lay down rules for
advertisers, agencies and media owners to follow.
They include general rules that state advertising must
be responsible, must not mislead, or offend and specific
rules that cover advertising to children and ads for
specific sectors like alcohol, gambling, motoring, health
and financial products.