Google and Meta caught targeting teens in a secret ad campaign

Tech giants Meta and Google are under scrutiny for a covert ad campaign targeting teenagers on YouTube using Instagram ads, which violates Google's own policies.

The Financial Times revealed the campaign, highlighting how these companies may have circumvented regulations to engage a younger audience, leading to significant controversy.

Meta and Google worked together to display Instagram ads to users aged 13 to 17 on YouTube. This action directly violated Google's own policies, which ban advertising to individuals under 18.

The ads targeted a specific group labeled as "unknown" in Google's advertising system, a category that is said to include users whose age, gender, or other demographic information is not disclosed.

The reported targeting occurred in Canada earlier this year and was intended to be expanded to other countries.

The campaign was allegedly coordinated with the assistance of Spark Foundry, a US-based advertising agency. The campaign's launch coincided with a decline in Google's ad revenue and a migration of Meta's younger users to competing platforms like TikTok.

After being contacted by the outlet, Google reportedly conducted an investigation and terminated the project. In a statement to Quartz, Google characterised the campaign as "small in nature" and asserted that it has "thoroughly reviewed the allegations concerning the circumvention of our policies" and is taking "appropriate steps." The company also mentioned plans to update its training to ensure that sales representatives have a better understanding of the rules.

After the programme was terminated, Google stated to the Financial Times, "We prohibit ads being personalised to people under 18, period."

The US Senate recently passed legislation aimed at holding tech giants accountable for harming minors. One bill, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPA 2.0), prohibits targeted advertising to minors and bans data collection without their consent.

Another bill, the Kids Online Safety Act, requires tech companies to design online platforms to prevent harm to users, including issues like cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and drug use. The fallout from this global outrage could result in regulatory actions in India.