New global partnership: digital platforms and leading beer, wine, and spirits brands unite to enhance age assurance for online alcohol marketing
Google, Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, and X have committed to work with global beer, wine, and spirits companies to further strengthen standards of responsibility for alcohol beverage advertising on digital channels worldwide, supporting UN goals to tackle the harmful use of alcohol.
Spearheaded by the leading drinks companies that together form the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD)*, this pioneering partnership aims to build confidence in age-assurance systems online and to help ensure online alcohol advertising is directed only at adults who wish to engage with drinks brands.
Today [Monday 10 June], IARD members and digital platforms have issued a joint statement announcing their collective commitment to further enhance online safeguards, where necessary, to prevent those under legal purchase age inadvertently seeing alcohol advertising online and to provide confidence that age-assurance methodologies on digital platforms are robust by 2025.
As part of this unique collaboration, digital companies have shared transparency reports that summarise the platform-specific safeguards particularly the policies and practices they have in place to assure age. [Reports: Google, Meta, Pinterest, Snap, TikTok, X,]
IARD members are committed to creating positive experiences for adults who choose to interact with alcohol brands and promote moderate and responsible consumption among adults who choose to drink.
Since 2018, IARD has been working in partnership with digital platforms to enhance responsibility standards for alcohol-related marketing online in support of UN goals to reduce harmful drinking.
Key outcomes include:
- Hundreds of thousands of influencers around the world can now age-gate posts.
- Leading global marketing and advertising agencies are 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 end of this year. The five safeguards on brand channels include: age-affirmation mechanism, transparency, user generated content policy, forward advice notice, responsible drinking message.
Commenting on the new global announcement,
Alexandre Ricard CEO of Pernod Ricard and IARD Chair said:
“Social media is a critical element of our long-standing efforts to prevent minors 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.”
Also commenting on the global partnership, digital platforms said:
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 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.”
ENDS
Contact
For more information, please contact: Puja Darbari –
pdarbari@iard.org or
iard@mhpgroup.com
Notes to editors
About IARD: The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing harmful drinking and promoting understanding of responsible drinking. We are supported by the leading global beer, wine, and spirits producers, who have come together for a common purpose: to be part of the solution in combating harmful drinking. To advance this shared mission, IARD works and partners with public sector, civil society, and private stakeholders.
www.iard.org
*IARD’s members are AB InBev, Asahi, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Carlsberg, Diageo, Heineken, Kirin, Moët Hennessy, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Pernod Ricard, Suntory Global Spirits, and William Grant & Sons. Associate members: The Coca-Cola Company and LOTTE Chilsung Beverage.
