The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 is a set of UK regulations to protect consumers from unfair, misleading or aggressive marketing practices. It implements an EU wide law - the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive – to harmonise consumer protection law across Europe. There is also the Business Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 which is specific to B2B practices.
The new law is technology neutral.
Misleading ‘word of mouth’ or ‘buzz’ marketing becomes an offence, as well as fake blogs or ‘astroturfing’. Among the specific 31 banned practices are the following:

• Spam: Making persistent and unwanted solicitations by telephone, fax, email or other remote media except in circumstances or to enforce a contractual obligation.
• Unclear Advertorials: Using editorial in the media to promote a product where a marketer has paid for the promotion without making it clear to the consumer.
  
• Targeting children: Including in an advert a direct exhortation to children to buy advertised products or persuade their parents or other adults (‘pester power’) to buy advertised products for them.
• Use of the word ‘free’: Describing a product as ‘free’ or ‘without charge’ if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding to the commercial practice and collecting or paying for deliverly of the item [This does not capture ‘Buy One Get One Free Offers’ but would capture ‘bundling’ situations when part of the bundle is described as free when in practice there is an expense in acquiring the larger bundle (eg in communications services)]

Source IABUK