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Tech Giants and Beverage Industry Unite for Responsible Alcohol Advertising Online

In a groundbreaking move to strengthen the standards of responsibility for alcohol beverage advertising on digital channels, Google, Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, and X have joined forces with global beer, wine, and spirits companies.

This collaboration aims to support UN goals to combat the harmful use of alcohol.

A Pioneering Partnership for Responsibility

Spearheaded by the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), this partnership brings together leading drinks companies and major digital platforms to ensure online alcohol advertising is directed only at adults who wish to engage with drinks brands. This initiative is designed to build confidence in age-assurance systems online, promoting a safer digital environment.

A Commitment to Enhanced Online Safeguards

On Monday, June 10, IARD members and digital platforms released a joint statement announcing their collective commitment to further enhance online safeguards. These enhancements aim to prevent underage individuals from inadvertently seeing alcohol advertisements online and to ensure that age-assurance methodologies on digital platforms are robust by 2025.

Transparency and Accountability

As part of this unique collaboration, digital companies have shared transparency reports summarizing platform-specific safeguards, including policies and practices to ensure age assurance. These reports cover the efforts and measures taken by Google, Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, and X to protect underage users from alcohol advertising.

Positive Experiences and Responsible Consumption

IARD members are dedicated to creating positive experiences for adults who choose to interact with alcohol brands, promoting moderate and responsible consumption among adults who choose to drink. Since 2018, IARD has partnered with digital platforms to enhance responsibility standards for alcohol-related marketing online, supporting UN goals to reduce harmful drinking.

Key Outcomes and Future Goals

Some key outcomes of this collaboration include:

  • Hundreds of thousands of influencers around the world can now age-gate posts.
  • Leading global marketing and advertising agencies have signed up to the first-ever global standards for influencer marketing.
  • Millions of advertisers can age-gate online marketing on digital platforms.
  • IARD members are on track to reach 95% compliance with Digital Guiding Principles by the end of this year.

The five safeguards on brand channels include:

  1. Age-affirmation mechanism
  2. Transparency
  3. User-generated content policy
  4. Forward advice notice
  5. Responsible drinking message

Voices from the Industry

Alexandre Ricard, CEO of Pernod Ricard and IARD Chair, commented: "Social media is a critical element of our long-standing efforts to prevent minors from seeing our marketing. We are pleased to have found some great allies in the digital platforms who have demonstrated their willingness to put effective age assurance in place. This global initiative shows how the private sector can come together to raise international standards of responsibility, and we call on others to join us."

Julian Braithwaite, CEO and President of IARD, added: "Today’s new partnership between the world’s leading beer, wine, and spirits companies and the global digital platforms is an important milestone in the global effort to further prevent advertising and sale of alcohol to those underage, and it shows just what can be achieved when the private sector is effectively harnessed to deliver the UN goals to tackle the harmful use of alcohol."

Statements from Digital Platforms

  • Google: "We take our responsibility to ensure age-appropriate advertising incredibly seriously, and we are gratified that this group has come together to further promote responsible advertising practices across the industry."
  • Meta: "We want people to have safe, positive experiences online and have spent a decade developing tools, features, and resources designed to protect people on our platform. Partnerships like IARD are a critical way for the industry to come together around aligned standards for the advertising of alcoholic beverages."
  • Pinterest: "At Pinterest, we’re focused on building a positive experience for everyone, including young people. This includes for the advertisements they see, and we’ve established robust restrictions for advertising of alcohol, including a prohibition against targeting minors."
  • Snap: "Snap prohibits advertisers from targeting alcohol ads towards people under the applicable legal drinking age. We proactively embed safeguards into our processes for advertisers and provide Snapchatters of legal drinking age with the ability to opt out of alcohol ads."
  • TikTok: "We are committed to making sure that our community sees ads that are age-appropriate. We take a number of steps to prevent alcohol ads and alcohol-related content from being seen by those under 18, and we welcome the partnership with IARD on this important issue."
  • X: "X collaborated with Internet Matters, an organization launched with the specific intention of supporting parents and guardians to navigate the digital landscape, to develop a parental controls guide."

This collaborative effort between global tech giants and the alcohol beverage industry marks a significant step forward in promoting responsible advertising and supporting the UN’s mission to reduce the harmful use of alcohol worldwide.

Source: IARD

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