Can Your Kids Buy Alcohol On Facebook, Etc.?

You've got all the bases covered when it comes to underage alcohol consumption, right? Wrong.

You watch your young person like a hawk, you warn them about the dangers of drinking, you make sure your liquor cabinet is locked, and you make sure they know there are consequences if they are caught drinking, but did you ever consider that they may try to purchase alcohol from Facebook, Ebay or Craigslist.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is doing something about this concern. He has teamed up with Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey to call on these companies to due what is right by taking proactive measures to work to prevent underage people from purchasing alcohol.

A coalition of forty-six other states have also signed onto these letters to the people who run these companies, asking them to be responsible when it comes to allowing these types of sales on their platforms.

Attorney General Jeff Landry says,

As we have seen recently with vaping and opioids, adolescents are finding new ways to purchase contraband online. These widely-used online platforms have a responsibility to implement meaningful systems and programs that proactively address this problem and keep our children safe.

in the letters, Landry says they are asking these companies to look at their content and remove anything illegal when it comes to sales or transferring alcohol to anyone underage.

Also, who really knows what your buying off the internet?

Landry adds,

The black-market products sold on these platforms may be counterfeit or tainted, sometimes with harmful health effects. So together-Republican or Democrat-we want to solve this problem and make our jurisdictions safer places to live, work and raise families.

They also say, via these letters, that "everyone has an ethical and moral responsibility to protect consumers, especially those who are most vulnerable to fraud."

The letters request that these companies start creating/using software that would block someone from illegally purchasing alcohol if they are not of age. Landry points out the 21st Amendment allows states to regulate alcohol sales.

The AG's argue in each of the letters that "everyone has an ethical and moral responsibility to protect consumers, especially those who are most vulnerable to fraud."