NY Legislature Fails to Advance Child Food Marketing Protections

ALBANY, NY (06/05/2026) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, the New York State Legislature adjourned without passing the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act (PMPA), legislation that would have curbed targeted, misleading food and beverage marketing aimed at children and adolescents - a tactic used by the food industry to shape kids' eating habits early and drive lifelong preferences for unhealthy products.

CSPI Campaign Manager Dr. DeAnna Nara issued the following statement in response:

"Children are exposed to an unprecedented volume of food and beverage marketing across social media, gaming platforms, streaming services, and other digital environments. Much of this marketing promotes products high in added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat, and is increasingly personalized using sophisticated data collection and targeting techniques. The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act would have established important safeguards to help protect children and adolescents from targeted marketing practices and create greater accountability in the digital food marketing environment. While we are disappointed the bill did not advance this session, we are grateful to Senator Myrie and Assemblymember Reyes for their leadership and commitment to protecting children and families. The Center for Science in the Public Interest looks forward to continuing to work with lawmakers, community organizations, parents, and public health advocates to strengthen and advance this legislation in a future session."

BACKGROUND

The Predatory Marketing Prevention Act aka PMPA (S397/A2584): Strengthens existing consumer protections by explicitly defining and restricting certain forms of targeted marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents. Building on New York's existing false advertising laws, the legislation seeks to reduce youth exposure to marketing for products associated with increased risk of diet-related disease while promoting a healthier and more transparent food environment.

Why Food Marketing Needs Reform:

• Influence on Consumer Behavior: Through marketing, the food industry exerts a heavy influence on how and where people make their food-purchasing decisions. For young people, fast-food advertising and processed food marketing may be particularly exploitative, steering their food preferences through early exposure and swaying their parents and caregivers' food purchases.
• Bloated Budgets for Predatory Marketing: According to the Federal Trade Commission, food companies spent nearly $2 billion marketing to youth in 2009 (the last year for which data are available). In 2019, fast-food restaurants spent $5 billion in total advertising, an increase of over $400 million (9%) vs. 2012. Notably, communities of color are disproportionately targeted; Black children see 75% more fast food ads than their white peers.
• Chronic Disease Risk: According to a 2024 report by Healthy Eating Research, digital food marketing disproportionately affects children, leading to increased consumption of nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods and beverages linked to preventable health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke - some of New York's leading killers.

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