We have developed a checklist of five key elements designed to help ensure minors’ social media experience is free from alcohol ads. Websites/social media pages for alcohol alternatives which have an ABV at or below 0.5% and are intended to replace alcoholic beverages are included in the scope.

The five elements are:

1. Age-gating

…stopping those under the legal drinking age from accessing alcohol-related sites or profiles;

2. Forwarding advice notice

…reminding users not to share alcohol ads with anyone under the legal drinking age;

3. User generated content policy

…reminding users not to post anything which condones irresponsible or excessive drinking;

4. Transparency

…a requirement for advertisers to have an official badge on alcohol brand social media profiles so users know these are advertiser-owned pages (and therefore commercial) and not user generated content; and

5. Responsible drinking message

…a requirement for advertisers to include a message such as “Don’t drink and drive” in all marketing communications, in line with industry best practice.

The European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) measures compliance across alcohol brand websites, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter profiles.

• In 2019, EASA found that 86% of profiles monitored had all 5 safeguards in place (France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, UK). See full report here
• In 2024, EASA found that 95% of profiles monitored had all 5 safeguards in place (France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain). See full report here

How-to guides for responsible
alcohol marketing on social media

Below, you can find video how-to guides on how to implement these key elements on a number of different social media platforms.