Tag: Shayna-Radhika-Patel

Today, the Government has announced that it intends to delay the effective date of the less healthy food regulations. The regulations, which ban TV ads for less healthy food or drink being shown before 9pm and online ads for these products, were due to come into force on 1 October this year.

Following heavy lobbying from the industry around the implications of ‘brand advertising’ (i.e. advertising a brand/company name even if unhealthy products were not shown), the Government has announced that it intends to make and lay a Statutory Instrument (SI) to explicitly exempt ‘brand advertising’ from the restrictions. To allow time to consult on the draft SI, the formal date that these new restrictions come into force has been extended from 1 October 2025 to 5 January 2026.

However, as per a voluntary agreement with the Government, advertisers and broadcasters have made a public commitment to comply with the restrictions as though they would still come into force from 1 October 2025. This means that, from 1 October 2025, the Government has said that it would expect adverts for specific identifiable less healthy products not to be shown on TV between 5:30am and 9pm or at any time online. This is a positive development for advertisers, particularly those that largely or wholly advertise products that fall within the ‘less healthy product’ category, who (it is expected) will be able to continue to advertise their branding without showing such less healthy products, at any time. This is of course subject to how the Government will define ‘brand advertising’, which we expect clarification on before the restrictions come into force on 5 January 2026 (subject to Parliamentary approval). However, advertisers will still be expected to comply with the general restriction and no longer advertise identifiable less healthy products on TV between 5:30am and 9pm or at any time online, as of 1 October 2025.

The Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act 2024 (DMCCA) came into force on 1 January 2025, and is now in effect, bringing with it significant changes to consumer law since the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Snapshot of the DMCCA

Outright ban of “unfair commercial practices”. The DMCCA overhauls existing consumer protections under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations and introduces several new provisions aimed at enhancing consumer rights and processes. This includes the outright banning of certain unfair commercial practices such as drip pricing and those in relation to fake or concealed incentivised consumer reviews.

Changes to subscription rules. The DMCCA also tightens the rules around B2C subscription contracts, adding new requirements for subscription services to comply with, however these changes are not expected to come into force until Spring 2026.

Strengthens the role of the CMA. The CMA will now be able to directly investigate suspected infringements and issue enforcement notices without the need for lengthy court proceedings. The DMCCA brings with it the ability for the CMA to impose penalties of up to 10% of global turnover. This is a significant shift from the previous regime which largely required court involvement for enforcement actions.

Phased implementation

The first set of changes relating to consumer law are now in effect, and the CMA has published guidance on unfair commercial practices that are banned by the DMCCA and subject to enforcement action. It is worth noting that many of these “unfair commercial practices” are not new in principle, but the main difference now is that the CMA has the ability to investigate and impose penalties for breaches of these rules. The CMA has also published guidance on how it will enforce the DMCCA. For the first 12 months, the CMA will target particularly harmful behaviours to consumers such as aggressive sales practices that prey on consumers in vulnerable positions, fees that are hidden until late in the buying process, information being given to consumers that is objectively false, unfair and unbalanced contract terms and fake reviews.

What can we expect next?

The CMA will likely start the first wave of its investigation and enforcement, focusing on the “most egregious” breaches of the DMCCA. The CMA has indicated that it will be consulting further on drip pricing this year, including in relation to fixed-term period contracts. We expect this further guidance in relation to drip pricing to be published this autumn. Look out for our further articles on the impacts of the DMCCA on influencer marketing, prize draws and competitions and subscription services.