We have submitted evidence to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s consultation on growing up in the online world.
In our response, we highlighted that:
- Advertising codes prohibit advertising alcohol to children, but industry self-regulation and voluntary codes are ineffective.
- Social media use and being online exposes children to alcohol marketing, which normalises alcohol consumption and increases the likelihood of higher risk behaviour with alcohol.
- Online platforms, algorithms and the collection and use of consumer data pose new and changing challenges for the regulation of alcohol marketing, as brands are woven into the fabric of conversations, holiday snaps, and connections people make online.
- The rise in influencer-generated content is also concerning, as research has shown a positive association between influencers promoting products and adolescents’ purchasing intentions
- Online alcohol advertising in the metaverse should be examined and strategies put in place to protect children and young people.
- ChatGPT is creating dangerous advice about substance use, including offering a personalised plan for getting drunk and hiding intoxication at school.
Public support for restrictions is generally high:
- 61% of UK adults support not allowing alcohol marketing where it can be seen by large numbers of children
- 83% of people in the North East of England support policies that would reduce the exposure of children to alcohol promotion and marketing
- Almost half of the adult population support not allowing alcohol marketing online (45%), with only 21% opposing this measure
We recommend that:
- The alcohol industry and its representatives must not feed into the development of future guidance
- Online alcohol marketing should be restricted to support the development of positive online spaces and content for children and young people, in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization, which concludes that “the best protection from exposure of digital marketing of alcohol, with its associated risks, is to remove it from all online contexts”.
