Yesterday, the Danish Government issued a press release announcing its intention to amend the Marketing Practices Act and introducing a ban on the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children under the age of 15. Citing growing concerns about childhood obesity and health risks, the Government singled out influencers and digital platforms as marketing channels which challenge existing regulations. Details on the proposal are scarce, but it is likely to impact broad sections of the food- and beverage industry.
According to the Government, current industry self-regulation has proven insufficient at handling new forms of digital marketing, resulting in a need for more stringent legal rules. Accordingly, the Government intends to ban companies and influencers from marketing unhealthy foods and beverages to audiences primarily composed of children under the age of 15, thereby tackling instances where influencer content and digital marketing circumvent current marketing regulations. Although substantive details on the bill have yet to be made public, the press release and public statements by cabinet members offer hints at the key points of interest.
As part of its preparations for the bill, the Government intends to develop a list of the foods and beverages which are to be considered unhealthy when marketed to children under the age of 15. The inclusion criteria for this list remain unclear and are likely to be a subject of great interest to the food and beverage industry in the coming months.
Furthermore, the Minister of the Interior and Health of Denmark states that the ban will target marketing where a substantial portion of the audience, e.g. followers or subscribers in the case of influencers, are under the age of 15. However, at this stage it is not clear if the audience for any given marketing campaign is to be calculated on a platform-by-platform basis or in aggregate across multiple platforms. Further, the Government has not given any indications as to the relevant threshold, i.e. what the proportion of children under the age of 15 within an audience will need to be for the marketing of unhealthy foods targeting said audience to be prohibited.
Based on the rough outline of the bill currently provided by the Government, it could have far-reaching implications for the food and beverage industry, as well as social media influencers with large audiences of children under the age of 15. While the bill has yet to take shape, companies operating in Denmark should anticipate stricter requirements around the marketing of foods and beverages high in sugar, fats, and salt to audiences largely consisting of children under the age of 15.
Gorrissen Federspiel is monitoring the development of the bill closely. For more information on how the Government’s proposal may impact the food and beverage industry, and to stay up to date on legislative developments, please contact our team.