Mr. Michael O'Keeffe:

I thank the committee for providing us with an opportunity to contribute to this important debate on childhood obesity. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, the independent regulator for broadcasting in Ireland, was established under the Broadcasting Act 2009. We have responsibility for a wide range of activities, including the licensing, regulation and support of independent and public service broadcast media in Ireland. We have a strategy statement which outlines our mission and vision and a series of strategic themes. It is in the context of one of those themes, that of empowering audiences, that we develop and review broadcasting codes and rules, assess compliance against these codes and rules, and facilitate complaints from members of the public about broadcasting content. The codes that are relevant to the debate on childhood obesity are the children’s commercial communications code and the general commercial communications code. I will briefly talk about those codes. There is more detail in the submission.

The children’s commercial communications code deals specifically with advertising, sponsorship, product placement and other forms of commercial promotion aimed at children, including the promotion of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar. We define a child as a person under 18 years of age, although the code recognises that certain communications are aimed at younger age groups. It also recognises that younger children may need stronger and different types of protections from older children. There is a range of objectives which support the protection of children and cover a wide range of advertising practices. In particular, the rules in the code apply to any commercial communication that promotes products, services or activities that are deemed to be of particular interest to children or that are broadcast during and between children’s programmes, or both. The code also applies to communications for products, services, etc., that are of particular interest to children which are broadcast during adult viewing times.

On the rules applying to food advertising, which are the most relevant rules for today's debate, section 11 of the code contains 11 rules that deal specifically with diet and nutrition. These are outlined in the submission and I can talk about them during the questions and answers session. It is also important to note that the code contains a range of general rules which apply to all commercial communications. This means that any advertisement for food products would also have to comply with these general rules as well as the food-specific rules. In concert, these obligations are intended to ensure a rigorous and proportionate scheme for the protection of children that empowers parents, guardians and members of the public to hold broadcasters to account, while recognising the shared responsibility of broadcasters, parents and guardians to protect the interests of children. In technical terms, foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, which we refer to as HSFF foods, are identified by use of a nutrient profiling model. This model was developed for use by the UK broadcast regulator, OFCOM. Before being adopted for Irish audiences, it was reviewed and endorsed by an expert working group put together by the BAI, which consisted of representatives from the Department of Health, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Health Service Executive and safefood.

The general commercial communications code, which is the broader code aimed at all programming, complements the children's code. It sets a range of rules for commercial communications which are broadcast outside of children's programming. Section 16 of the code includes requirements in respect of food, nutrition and health which are intended to provide additional protection for children. Irish-based broadcasters are required to comply with both codes. The BAI also monitors UK opt-out channels. To explain that, UK opt-out channels are the UK channels which take out the UK advertising and insert Irish advertising. Sky would be a good example of such a service. Almost 40 such channels are being carried on the Sky and Virgin platforms in Ireland. Furthermore, any member of the public is entitled to make a complaint to the BAI. In practice, the BAI has received a low number of complaints in respect of the food rules and the monitoring the BAI has undertaken has not highlighted any significant issues with their implementation.

In respect of future action, our submission also makes reference to the European audiovisual media services directive, a revised text of which includes the extension of HFSS rules to on-demand and video sharing platform services.

The revised directive, which has just been agreed at European level is anticipated to be transposed into Irish law before the end of 2020. There is usually a two-year period from the final publication of the new directive and that should bring us close to the end of 2020. Later this year, the BAI will undertake a full review of the current rules dealing with food advertising to children. Any revisions arising from the review will take into account any new requirements resulting from the new European law. Obviously the BAI will only regulate the broadcast services, but the code will take into account any changes that may occur. The BAI will also continue to co-operate with State agencies as it has done in the past, including most recently in the development of the codes of practice for the regulation of food marketing in non-broadcast media under the aegis of the Department of Health.

The BAI appreciates that the audiovisual content and advertisements the public consume can influence culture, attitudes and behaviours that may lead to obesity. The BAI recognises the Irish public’s expectation that broadcasters should conduct themselves in a responsible manner and reflects this sentiment in the codes and standards we implement. I have gone into much more detail in the submission but have kept my opening statement to the key points. I will be happy to answer any questions from members.