Regulators halt advert plans following NSS censorship concerns

Regulators have abandoned proposed new rules for advertising after the National Secular Society warned they may result in greater religious censorship.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), which are responsible for writing advertising regulation guidelines, have this month announced they will not adopt stricter guidelines around protected characteristics defined by equality law.

The proposals, announced in 2021, said marketers and broadcasters "must have particular regard to the likelihood of causing harm" to people with protected characteristics including "religion or belief".

The NSS said the rules could "inadvertently have a detrimental effect on the public – including on the basis of their protected characteristics" in response to a consultation on the proposals.

The consultation document did not define "harm", saying it "is a commonly understood term".

The NSS said this meant a religious person could argue they were 'harmed' by an advert that offended their beliefs. This could lead to censorship of depictions of people representing other protected characteristics.

It cited past examples of such censorship, including an advert for Antonio Federici ice cream banned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), the regulator which enforces the CAP code, in 2010.

The advert (pictured) showed two priests who appeared to be on the verge of kissing, which ASA said was potentially "offensive to Catholics". The NSS warned such censorship fuels "homophobic social narratives that there is something inherently offensive, shameful and immoral about being gay".

The NSS recommended that CAP and BCAP "re-consider the necessity of these additional rules" and "provide greater clarity" as to what is meant by 'harm'.

In a statement on the outcome of their consultation, CAP and BCAP said that having "carefully reviewed" the responses to the consultation, they concluded that their codes' existing rules on social responsibility and harm "are adequate in protecting against or reducing the likelihood of harm arising from advertising and other marketing communications".

They added that they will "continue to introduce specific, detailed guidance on preventing harm to particular groups sharing one or more of the protected characteristics in response to robust evidence of real-world harm to those groups being caused by advertising".

NSS: Censorship "can stigmatise and harm" the very people who need protection

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: "We welcome CAP and BCAP's decision to abandon the proposed rules which, while well-intended, risked greater censorship of material that may offend religious beliefs.

"This in turn can stigmatise and harm the very people that CAP and BCAP seek to protect.

"We are grateful to CAP and BCAP for taking our concerns seriously and concluding that their existing comprehensive rules are adequate to ensure people are, rightly, protected from harm."