Will New Web Tool Stop Minors From Following Liquor Brands on Twitter and Facebook?

New Technology Promises to Age-Screen Users

Not only is underage drinking a huge liability for liquor brands, these days, so is underage Tweeting and Facebook-ing. Companies selling alcohol, you see, can get in hot water for encouraging minors to drink by allowing them to follow their various beverages on social media sites.

Capitalizing on the issue while trying to solve the problem, Buddy Media has launched a tool to help liquor brands suss out minors and prevent them from following them. So far, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and MillerCoors have tested the tool, while others have been invited to try it out.

How does it work? When users attempt to follow a liquor, beer or wine brand, they'll be redirected to a page that will age-screen them. As long as they enter an age of consent, they'll be free to follow.

READ: Twitter is More Addictive Than Sex and Liquor

Skeptics, of course, are wondering how the tool will be able to tell if a minor is simply entering a bogus birthdate, but Andrea Javor, a digital executive for Jim Beam, is confident in the technology.

"We've been overly cautious," she says. "We are really excited that we have this greater level of confidence that we're reaching our [of-age] consumers."