Anheuser-Busch has announced plans to adopt Aristotle's age-verification technology for all its beer-branded websites, including Budweiser.com and the upcoming Bud.tv, which is launching on Super Bowl weekend (that's 4th February, for us Brits who don't set our watches by the NFL calendar).
Apparently, this makes the company the first booze firm to use an independent age-verification system for its sites. Is this a good thing? Okay, so US consumers can't legally swig beer until they're 21, but surely they're allowed to read about it on the internetweb? Seemingly not.
Anyway, visitors to Bud.tv (and by April, the other sites) will have to provide their first and last name, date of birth and zip code, which Aristotle then compares to its database of public records. Presumably this means I won't be able to visit Bud.tv either, unless it includes UK records.
Admittedly, alcohol companies can't be seen to promote their products to underage consumers. But the technology will have to be super-reliable to avoid turning away legal users too.