Companies are using sophisticated data-driven marketing methods to track, profile and target Australians with harmful advertising at times of heightened susceptibility. This report found that companies marketing harmful and addictive products like alcohol and gambling are harvesting and drawing on data to push personalised digital ads, including to young people and others at risk of harm from these products.

Data-driven digital advertising of harmful and addictive products, including gambling, alcohol and unhealthy food, damages the health and wellbeing of children, individuals and the broader community, driving increased use and harms from these products, while increasing the profits of harmful product companies.

The report recommends a range of common-sense measures supported by the community that will help create safer online spaces for people most at risk of harm from addictive products like alcohol and gambling. A strong regulatory response is needed to address the harms associated with the data-driven marketing of harmful and addictive products.

Key findings

• People are profiled and targeted with highly personalised ads for harmful and addictive products when they are most susceptible to persuasion.
• Companies use data brokers and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to identify and track intimate information including moods, mental health, purchasing history and movement patterns, serving up precision marketing in near real time.
• Consent is often assumed or bundled, and it is currently impossible for people to use popular digital platforms without being targeted by advertising for harmful and addictive products.