Strengthen ad standards to protect children from harmful online and outdoor alcohol advertising
- Feb 5, 2025
- 4 min read
Key takeaways
> Children and young people exposed to alcohol ads are more likely to drink alcohol earlier and at higher risk levels.
> Children’s personal data is invasively used to target them with online alcohol ads, and outdoor advertising placed near schools and other child-frequented places increases intentions to drink among young people.
> The use of children’s personal data for digital advertising, and outdoor alcohol advertising at sporting clubs, public transport infrastructure, and near schools should be prohibited.
Alcohol advertising increases harms to children
Frequent exposure to alcohol advertising strongly influences alcohol use patterns among children and young people.¹ It is associated with earlier initiation of alcohol use and a higher prevalence of heavy and binge drinking,² which has the potential to cause serious harm given early onset of alcohol use increases the likelihood of higher risk drinking and alcohol-related harms later in life. For example, 15 and 16 year olds who report drinking alcohol are more likely to engage in high risk and binge drinking 2 years later, and score higher on the AUDIT-C (a measure of alcohol dependence).³
Online and outdoor alcohol advertising targets children
By the time a child is 13, advertising technology companies have collected over 72 million data points about them, which is used to profile the child and personally target them with online advertising.⁴ This is cause for serious concern, especially when it is used by alcohol advertisers; and we know around 93% of 16-17 year olds are exposed to alcohol ads on their Facebook feeds.⁵
In 2023, Meta⁶ collected intimate psychological insights about almost 2 million children in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including real-time monitoring of their mood, which it uses to sell targeted social media advertising.⁷ Meta tags children and young people as interested in harmful products, including alcohol (despite it being illegal for Australian under 18s to purchase or possess alcohol),⁸ and exploits them by allowing advertisers to target children with sponsored advertising of these products.⁹
Outdoor alcohol advertising near schools increases drinking intentions among children and young people,¹⁰ yet alcohol ads are often placed near schools, sporting facilities and other places frequented by children. For example, 1 in 4 ads at Southern Cross station were for alcohol products during the 4-week AFL’s Kids Go Free initiative, a period when child attendance at AFL games was expected to rise by over 20% and public transport travel was encouraged.¹¹
Strengthen advertising standards to better protect kids
We need to protect children online by restricting the use of their personal data for targeted marketing purposes, especially when it is used to advertise products children cannot legally buy or consume, such as alcohol. The federal government could ensure a nationally consistent approach through a new Harmful Product Marketing Act, which is supported by more than 130 leading organisations, researchers and academics working in public health, social welfare, and children’s wellbeing.¹²
In 2018 the Victorian Government introduced legislation to prevent outdoor alcohol advertising within 150 metres of all schools in Victoria, excluding advertising on the exterior of licensed premises and alcohol businesses, sports grounds, and racecourses within this distance.¹³ These exceptions should be removed and the block out radius extended to at least 1 km to reduce children’s exposure to harmful alcohol advertising. Several councils are also not signed up to the state Bus Shelter Agreement which prohibits alcohol advertising at bus shelters, while Southern Cross station is excluded from the Victorian Government’s contracts with private operators of public transport that prevent alcohol advertising on buses, trams, trains, and associated infrastructure (e.g., stops, shelters, platforms and stations).
Recommendations
Protect children from alcohol advertising by prohibiting the use of their personal data—namely their characteristics, preferences, attitudes or behaviour—to target them with online alcohol advertising.
Prohibit outdoor alcohol advertising at sporting grounds, racecourses, and facilities used by children, on all public transport infrastructure, and at any place within a 1 km radius of schools.
References
1 Sandra Jones and Christopher Magee, ‘Exposure to Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption Among Australian Adolescents’ (2011) 46(5) Alcohol and Alcoholism 630; Agatha Faulkner, Denise Azar and Victoria White, ‘‘Unintended’ Audiences of Alcohol Advertising: Exposure and Drinking Behaviors Among Australian Adolescents’ (2016) 22(1) Journal of Substance Use 108; Sherilene Carr et al, ‘Child and Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in Australia's Major Televised Sports’ (2016) 35(4) Drug and Alcohol Review 406.
2 David Jernigan et al, ‘Alcohol Marketing and Youth Alcohol Consumption: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies Published Since 2008’ (2017) 112(S1) Addiction 7; Lesley Smith and David Foxcroft, ‘The Effect of Alcohol Advertising, Marketing and Portrayal on Drinking Behaviour in Young People: Systematic Review of Prospective Cohort Studies’ (2009) 9(51) BMC Public Health 1.
3 Lars Sjödin, Jonas Raninen and Peter Larm, ‘Early Drinking Onset and Subsequent Alcohol Use in Late Adolescence: a Longitudinal Study of Drinking Patterns’ (2024) 74(6) Journal of Adolescent Health 1225, 1228.
4 Super Awesome, ‘SuperAwesome Launches Kid-Safe Filter to Prevent Online Ads From Stealing Children’s Personal Data’ (Press Release, 6 December 2018) <https://www.superawesome.com/superawesome-launches-kid-safe-filter-to-prevent- online-ads-from-stealing-childrens-personal-data/>.
5 Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, ‘Facebook and Instagram Are Bombarding Young People With Targeted Alcohol, Gambling and Unhealthy Food Ads’ (Media Release, 21 February 2023) <https://fare.org.au/facebook-and-instagram- are-bombarding-young-people-with-targeted-alcohol-gambling-and-unhealthy-food-ads/>.
6 Meta is an American multinational organisation that owns and operates prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
7 Darren Davidson, ‘Facebook Targets ‘Insecure’ Young People’, The Australian Business Review (online, 1 May 2017) <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/ facebook-targets-insecure-young-people-to-sell-ads/news-story/a89949ad016eee7d7a61c3c30c909fa6>.
8 Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (Vic) s 123(1)(a)-(b).
9 Dylan Williams et al, Profiling Children For Advertising: Facebook’s Monetisation of Young People's Personal Data (Report, 26 April 2021) <https://apo.org.au/node/330984>; Alex Hern and Frederik Hugo Ledegaard, ‘Children 'Interested in' Gambling and Alcohol, According to Facebook’, The Guardian (online, 10 October 2019) <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/09/children-interested-in-gambling-and-alcohol-facebook>.
10 Peter Anderson et al, ‘Impact of Alcohol Advertising and Media Exposure on Adolescent Alcohol Use: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies’ (2009) 44(3) Alcohol and Alcoholism 229.
11 Cancer Council Victoria, ‘Almost Half Southern Cross Station Ads Push Alcohol, Junk Food or Sugary Drinks, Research Reveals’ (Media Release, 28 November 2024) <https://www.cancervic.org.au/about/media-releases/2024/november/almost-half -southern-cross-station-ads-push-alcohol-junk-food-or-sugary-drinks-research.html>.
12 ‘Add Your Voice’, Give Us an Ad Break (Web Page, 9 March 2026) <https://giveusanadbreak.org.au/add-your-voice/>.
13 Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 (Vic) s 115B.
