New Report Raises Concerns About Online Alcohol Marketing and Youth

The Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys General are being asked to investigate digital marketing of alcoholic beverages, both beer and distilled spirits.

The request is coming from the Center For Digital Democracy and the Berkeley Media Studies Group, which plan Tuesday (May 18) to release a report, Alcohol Marketing In the Digital Age, with examples of online alcohol marketing via mobile phones, social networks and more they argue has the potential to attract underage drinkers. The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The beer and distilled spirits industries already have self-regulatory codes that prohibit marketing to youth, but the groups want them to toughen those, including banning the use of psychographic information on underage users from any Web site. That report cites various digital and social marketing campaigns, including Google (YouTube), MySpace, and Facebook that the alcohol industry uses in an effort to track and target their audience. "The alcohol industry's digital and social media marketing tactics are blurring the boundaries between advertising and content with unprecedented sophistication," said report co-author Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center For Digital Democracy. "The FTC and state attorneys-general should launch an investigation into this new threat to young people online."