Recommendation 16

HM Government Not Addressed

We welcome the steps taken by firms to take a clearer line in facilitating access to their platforms only for financial promotions placed by entities which are authorised by the FCA. We understand that under UK law, financial promotions communicated online must either be authorised by a firm regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), or comply with an exemption set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the ‘Financial Promotions Order’). In December 2021, Google announced changes to its policy, meaning that paid-for advertisements by way of their sites are either made, or approved, by an FCA/PRA authorised firm (s21 FSMA). The implication of this is that authorised firms are subject to robust checks prior to authorisation and must ensure that their financial promotions comply with FCA rules. We agreed with the Committee that online platforms need to set out a clear timetable for delivering their commitments in this area. The application of the Financial Promotion Regime is covered in further detail in the section below. Additionally, we welcome the suggestion in the Government’s announcement that the codes of practice to be drawn up by OFCOM might include recommendations that platforms check the identities of those wishing to publish adverts on their platforms. We think that understanding who is publishing material is an important step in reducing the risk that platforms are used to promote fraudulent content. We look forward to working closely with OFCOM as it develops the Codes, to ensure platforms minimize the risk of