Parents’ group says alcohol ads are plainly illegal

Alcohol advertisements sent by online retailer Heimkaup and promotions by liquor store Smáríkið are illegal, Árni Guðmundsson, chair of the Parents’ Association Against Alcohol Advertising, told mbl.is.

Guðmundsson said there was no doubt that targeted marketing emails from Heimkaup, which Morgunblaðið covered last week, broke the law. He added that the companies involved knew this, and said their actions showed how much they respected the law.

He also criticised the police for not testing in court advertisements that show a 0.0% logo for a split second at the end, even though all the imagery, text and spoken words refer to an alcoholic product. The association has sent hundreds of tips and complaints to police through its website, he said, but police rarely take action.

Guðmundsson said the Media Commission provides the strongest oversight and has issued fines for breaches of media law. But he said its powers are limited when Smáríkið advertises its business on RÚV, Iceland’s public broadcaster, and elsewhere.

He said social media platforms’ terms commit them to following the laws of the countries where they operate, and that platforms comply with such rules in many places. In the association’s view, he said, it should be technically straightforward for them to do so, as they do with tobacco advertising. He accused the police of failing in their duty.