Facebook serves gambling and alcohol ads to vulnerable Australians, study finds
A University of Queensland study found that Facebook's ad targeting system allowed gambling and alcohol companies to repeatedly serve ads to vulnerable Australians at high risk of harm, using data the companies shared with Facebook.
What happened
A study by University of Queensland researchers found that gambling and alcohol ads are served to people at high risk of gambling or alcohol-related harms multiple times in short periods on Facebook.
The 10 study participants, who had experienced or were at risk of harm from alcohol and gambling products, had been 'tagged' by Facebook with 89 different alcohol and gambling-related interests, allowing advertisers to target them.
The study found that 201 alcohol companies and 63 gambling companies had shared data with Facebook about the participants, enabling further ad targeting.
Reported impact
People trying to reduce their alcohol use or gambling found it difficult to escape this advertising when using Facebook.
Participants were particularly alarmed to learn that alcohol and gambling companies had shared their data with Facebook to target them.
Index analysis
Dr Giselle Newton, the chief investigator, stated the report was 'the tip of the iceberg' in terms of how alcohol and gambling companies collect and use people's data to target them with harmful and addictive products.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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