According to the report, in Lisbon, 81% of the infractions detected were on websites and social networks.

The document also indicates that 9.5% of the violations occurred in magazines and another 9.5% on television.

During the period in which the law was applied, 11 administrative offence proceedings were instituted, of which seven resulted in convictions totalling 50,500 euros in fines.

Among the food categories with the most violations, cakes, biscuits and other pastries stand out (28%), as well as pre-prepared meals, convenience foods and ready-to-eat meals (23.0%).

The impact assessment of the law that introduced restrictions on advertising aimed at children under 16, of foods and drinks with high energy value, salt, sugar, and fat content was carried out by a working group coordinated by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and which includes representatives from the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs (DGC), Directorate-General for Education (DGE) and Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV).

According to the document, between 2019 and 2023, the DGC carried out five inspection actions to analyse food advertising aimed at children under 16. In total, 258 messages disseminated by 34 economic operators in different communication contexts (magazines, television, and digital media) were analysed.

Of the total number of economic operators covered, a compliance rate of 68% was recorded. With regard to the universe of advertising messages analysed, the compliance rate reached 94%.

Regarding the analysis of commercial communication present in television services aimed at young audiences, it was carried out by the Regulatory Entity for Social Communication (ERC) and took place in the last quarter of 2023.

In this work, the ERC identified “various marketing techniques and content aimed at children and young people within programs and during their breaks”, with 11 violations of the law on television and streaming platforms.

41 advertisements for children's menus from two fast-food chains were also identified, promoting the brands and toys that accompany the menus, without identifying a specific food product (brand marketing).

“This strategy of adapting to existing legislation appears to continue to allow children to be exposed to food marketing,” warn the experts.

The report also points out situations “likely to indicate a violation of the provisions of the Advertising Code”, regarding advertising of food and drinks aimed at children, as well as “other commercial communications that prove more difficult to classify given the legal constraints, particularly with regard to sponsorships”.

Also on television, the monitoring analysis of food advertising aimed at children and young people covered all Portuguese generalist and free-access channels (RTP1, RTP2, SIC and TVI) and children's cable/fibre channels.

In 2020, 5,555 advertisements with food advertising were analyzed, 10.4% promoted food and beverages and there was no food advertising on children's channels. The majority of the percentage of food and beverage advertisements did not comply with the nutritional profile defined by the DGS (65.6%), a figure that rose to 78.3% the following year.