In today’s Digest, we discuss IPA data showing Brits increasingly consuming commercial media alone, particularly among younger audiences, a new ISBA study putting UK retail media networks under the microscope, and Australia proposing a law that would let users switch off social media algorithms.

Brits turn to commercial media alone 

British adults are spending an increasing share of their commercial media time in isolation, according to new IPA research published Wednesday, with the shift most pronounced among younger audiences. The report, drawn from the 2026 IPA TouchPoints database, found that British adults now consume 44% of their commercial media alone, up 10% since 2015 when the metric was first tracked. Among 16-34-year-olds, that figure climbs to 46%, a 21% jump over the same period, while 35-54-year-olds now spend 39% of their commercial media time solo, up 11%.

In practical terms, adults are now spending roughly two and a half hours daily consuming commercial media alone, up from under two hours in 2015, with younger adults logging even more solo screen time at 2 hours 45 minutes a day. The report attributes much of this shift to the growing dominance of smartphones, which now account for as much commercial media time as television among all British adults.

ISBA study examines UK retail media networks

ISBA has released the second phase of its Digital Retail Media Study. The study offers the first independent evaluation of how five of Britain's largest retail media networks actually perform when it comes to campaign setup, execution, and reporting. Mediasense led the research, examining more than 200 distinct capability areas through a combination of platform demonstrations, documentation reviews, and structured testing, extending the qualitative groundwork laid out in last year's study. 

The findings paint a mixed picture: first-party data management appears consistently strong across the networks assessed, and closed-loop measurement continues to improve. However, retailers remain divided on how to define fundamental metrics or attribute sales, complicating advertisers' ability to make apples-to-apples comparisons between platforms. The report establishes a shared industry benchmark, identifying where certain retailers are excelling while flagging the inconsistencies that continue to hold the broader market back.

Australia plans social media algorithm opt-out

Australia is set to introduce draft legislation this week that would give users the ability to turn off social media algorithms. This is part of a broader digital duty of care framework, Communications Minister Anika Wells announced. Wells, who previously led the government's world-first social media ban for under-16s, said the new rules are intended to establish "some basic safety protections on an industry that hasn't had to observe it." Under the proposal, tech companies such as Meta, Google, and TikTok would face substantial penalties if they failed to offer users the option to disable algorithmic content feeds. 

The government plans to seek expert advice on whether the system should operate on an opt-in or opt-out basis, meaning key details of how the law would function in practice remain unresolved even as the legislation moves forward, mirroring the approach taken with the earlier social media ban.