Facebook gives advertisers the option to run alcohol, smoking and gambling ads to teenagers

A research led by the group Reset Australia revealed that Facebook is giving businesses the possibility to target teenagers ads related to alcohol consumption, smoking and gambling. The research demonstrated that Facebook allowed ads related to these topics to target more than 740 thousand Australian children aged between 13 and 17. In addition, the study confirmed that to advertise to 52 thousand teenagers interested in alcohol it would cost only $3.03, while reaching around 1 thousand teenagers interested in cigarettes or electronic cigarettes would cost between $138.50 and $210.97. Following these findings, Reset Australia has asked the federal government to regulate how data about young people should be collected and used. This regulation should include express consent from parents to have such data collected.