CSPI and Advocates Urge Crackdown on Youth-Targeted Predatory Food Marketing Citing New TikTok Ad Study

ALBANY, NY (03/20/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and NYU's Food Environment and Policy Coalition unveiled findings from their latest study on deceptive marketing practices by TikTok's top food influencers. Of the hundreds of videos promoting branded food and beverage products, nearly 70% failed to disclose brand partnerships, despite reaching millions of young viewers. Youth are particularly vulnerable to misleading food marketing, often perceiving sponsored product endorsements as organic recommendations. With an estimated 63% of teens using TikTok across the U.S. and companies spending billions annually on ads for unhealthy foods, the scale of undisclosed marketing raises serious concerns for children's health. New York currently has a bill that would address this issue head-on: the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act (S397/A2584) aka the PMPA.

Watch a recording of the press conference and read the full study.

Sponsored by State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, the bill has recently gained momentum in Albany, with the New York Senate's vote to include the bill in its one-house budget resolution earlier this month. The legislation would grant the NYS Attorney General new tools to investigate and restrict predatory marketing by food and beverage companies, while directing the Department of Health to collaborate with schools on healthy eating initiatives. Healthcare and science experts joined CSPI to share their field knowledge and insights on the study, amplifying the PMPA as a means to protect children's physical health.

"Food and beverage companies use sophisticated digital marketing tactics to promote unhealthy products to children and adolescents, which shapes their eating habits. Our study revealed that TikTok influencers use 10 different types of disclosures when promoting products from food and beverage brands and that, in almost 70% of their posts featuring food and beverage brands, they do not use any disclosures at all. This is confusing for consumers, but especially children and adolescents, who have to figure out which posts are paid partnerships. Policymakers must take these findings seriously and advance strong regulation to protect children's health - starting with the PMPA," said Roxanne Dupuis, Ph.D., NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Food Environment and Policy Coalition research scientist.

"As a pediatrician, I see firsthand how deceptive food marketing steers children's diets and contributes to long-term health issues. After constant exposure to predatory food ads, countless children land in hospital beds with diet-related illnesses that are preventable with better nutrition and stronger regulation. To safeguard children's health, we must confront this alarming trend and stop companies from pushing the same unhealthy foods that directly lead to chronic disease. Albany lawmakers must act now to protect children's wellbeing," said Dr. Sanjivan Patel, M.D., Wyckoff Hospital pediatrician.

"Our study makes it clear: each day, young people are bombarded with hidden ads designed to influence their food choices – without them even realizing it. This isn't just unethical; it's dangerous. The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act is a critical step toward holding corporations accountable and ensuring a healthier future for New York children. Without it, we risk jeopardizing the health of future generations. Our state must act swiftly to pass this bill and protect youth," said Dr. DeAnna Nara, CSPI Campaign Manager.

"As a health care professional and mother of two, I am well aware of how social media has become a breeding ground for deceptive marketing for unhealthy food products," said Assemblymember Karines Reyes, R.N. (D-Bronx) and PMPA Assembly sponsor. "New York State must assert its role, as a regulator, to ensure that our kids are safe from large corporations seeking to profit off their health and wellness, especially during the impressionable years of their youth. That is why I am a proud sponsor of the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act, so that our state has the tools to prevent deceptive advertising, via social media and other means, that urges children to purchase and want junk foods. I am hopeful that my colleagues will support this bill and give our children a fighting chance."

"Every day New York's kids are up against billions of marketing dollars getting them hooked on unhealthy food for life. The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act will give kids a fighting chance at a healthier future, protecting them from the deceptive marketing that this research unequivocally proves is harmful to developing brains. I'm so grateful to them and to Assemblymember Reyes for standing up for healthy choices and our young people," said Senator Zellnor Myrie (D-20).

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