Age verification and underage accessibility of official alcohol companies' websites and brand pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Background: Digital alcohol marketing increases alcohol consumption among underage persons. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of age verification measures on three digital sites: official alcohol company websites and their associated brand pages on Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria.

Methods: We created three fictitious age profiles (14, 16, and 18 years) on the three digital sites. Using a smartphone and desktop computer, we assessed the presence of age verification on 15 official alcohol companies' websites, 66 alcohol brand pages on Facebook, and 72 on Instagram. We assessed whether the fictitious underage profiles could interact with content on brand pages.

Findings: Only three of 15 alcohol companies' websites included age verification. Two websites required entering the date of birth, while one required clicking a yes/no box to confirm being above 18 years old. Only one website blocked multiple attempts to gain access using an underage profile. Only 24 of 66 official alcohol brand pages on Facebook activated age verification. Underage users aged 14 and 16 could interact with posts and follow 42 alcohol brand pages on Facebook. Only 22 of 72 alcohol brand pages on Instagram had age verification. Users aged 14 and 16 could interact with posts and follow 50 alcohol brand pages on Instagram.

Conclusion: Underage persons can access and interact with alcohol content on alcohol companies' websites and brand pages on Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria. A regulatory framework for restricting underage access to alcohol marketing on digital platforms is required in Nigeria.