Twitter age verification tool to make alcohol advertising safer

Alcohol brands are now able to market on Twitter more responsibly following the launch of a system to obtain ages of followers on the social network.

Brands including Jack Daniels, Coors Light and Jim Beam have been involved in a testing group on the new system over the past month.

Now that the programme is public, advertisers can add the restrictions on their Twitter accounts.

When a user attempts to follow an alcohol brand on the site, they will automatically receive a direct message taking them through to an age screening page. If they give an age that meets the requirement of their local drinking law, they will be able to follow alcohol brands.

Until now many alcohol brands have included a note on their account profile stating that followers must be of legal drinking age and urging them to “drink responsibly.”

Consumers will only have to supply their age one under the new system, rather than entering it for each new brand they follow.

The move is predicted to stimulate more active promotion of alcohol brands on the social network.