Advertising Standards Authority to handle Ofcom complaints

Responsibility for TV and radio advertising codes will be contracted out to a committee representing advertisers and broadcasters. Ofcom will keep its statutory powers and approve changes to the codes, but complaints about adverts will be made to the ASA in the future.

The outsourcing takes effect on the 1st of November this year, and will be funded by a 0.1% levy on the cost of advertising space, said the ASA. That is already how the non-broadcast advertising watchdog works.

Broadcasters will be required under the terms of their Ofcom licences to observe the codes and cooperate with the ASA. µ