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BudTV.com Gets Carded; Attorney Generals Censor Site, Cite Under-Age Access
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In a political move that could spell trouble for companies looking to create branded-entertainment web portals, the attorneys general of 21 states are attacking BudTV.com, the $40-million Internet venture recently launched by Anheuser-Busch, for not more closely policing the ages of its users.
State officials have expressed concerns about a beer company that "controls both the medium and the messsage" of such entertainment channels, according to an article on AdAge.com.
"We feel strongly that since you are creating the programming and controlling the internet-based network, not just advertising on it, you have a higher responsibility to ensure that youth are not exposed to the marketing on your site," a letter to Anheuser Busch reads, according to the article. "We fail to see how your use of age verification on the Bud.tv site is a genuine attempt to keep youth from accessing the site's content."
The attorneys general found further fault with Bud.tv for allowing users to download programs to their iPods and send via e-mail to their friends. "If the programming on your site can be downloaded and shared freely, what's the purpose of engaging any age verification at all?"
Though the letter gives no indication of the potential consequences for BudTV, the attorneys general have the ability to sue and have done so in the past.
Read The Daily Reel's review of BudTV here.
