Sign Up for Alerts
Sign up to receive receive industry-specific emails from our legal team.
Sign Up for Alerts
We provide tailored, industry-specific legal updates to our clients and other friends of the firm.
Areas of Interest
September 26th, 2011
Distilled Spirits Council Issues New Social Media Marketing Guidelines
Last week, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States ("DISCUS") issued new self-regulatory guidelines governing online marketing practices. The new guidelines, which are effective September 30th, apply to marketing on social media sites and other digital communications platforms, including websites, blogs, and mobile communications and applications.
Key requirements of the new DISCUS guidelines include:
- "Age-gating" on websites before any direct communication between advertisers and consumers;
- Regular monitoring and moderating of websites that include user generated content, and removal of inappropriate content;
- Where online content is intended to be forwarded by users, marketers must include instructions that content should only be forwarded to those who are of legal purchase age;
- Clear identification of online communications as advertising;
- Inclusion of social responsibility statements in all communications, where practicable; and
- Standards for privacy policies.
The new guidelines are intended to supplement, and be read in conjunction with, the DISCUS Code of Responsible Advertising Practices. Earlier this year, DISCUS updated the ":Code" to restrict marketing to media where at least 71.6% of the audience is reasonably expected to be of the legal purchase age. As reported by DISCUS, an August 2011 Nielsen survey shows that 82.22% of the Facebook audience, 86.86% of the Twitter audience, and 80.96% of the YouTube audience is at least 21 years of age.
If you have any questions about the new DISCUS guidelines, please contact Jeff Greenbaum at (212) 826 5525, jgreenbaum@fkks.com; Candice Kersh at (212) 826 5562, ckersh@fkks.com; Claudine Wilson at (212) 705 4842, cwilson@fkks.com, or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Advertising Group.
Other Advertising Law Alerts
What the Advertising Industry Can Learn from Kim Kardashian’s Settlement with the SEC
On October 3, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it entered into a $1.26 million settlement with Kim Kardashian over her social media promotion of the EMAX token without disclosing payment she received from token issuer, EthereumMax. The matter provides important lessons for advertisers. Read more.
October 10 2022
Get Ready for California’s New “Automatic Renewal” Rules
California recently amended its Automatic Purchase Renewals law. The amended statute - effective July 1st -- require marketers to provide consumers of automatic renewal or continuous service offers with more information and easier ways to terminate. Read more.
June 22 2018
“Made in the U.S.A.” Claims Continue to be Scrutinized
In 2016, California amended Section 17533.7 of the California Business and Professions Code ("Section 17533"), liberalizing the standard for selling products labeled "Made in U.S.A" to California consumers. Read more.
June 4 2018
