Google and Meta have allegedly entered into an agreement aimed at creating and displaying advertisements targeted towards younger audiences. According to a report, the technology giant from Mountain View is developing a marketing initiative for ads to be featured on its YouTube platform. These advertisements are intended for Meta’s Instagram, with a specific focus on teenagers. This development follows previous assertions from both companies that they do not direct advertisements to users under the age of 18.
A report by the Financial Times indicates that this deal is intended to attract minor users to Instagram through targeted ads on YouTube. Citing access to internal documents, the report suggests that Google’s marketing initiative is specifically aimed at individuals aged 13 to 17.
If validated, these practices would contravene Google’s Ad-serving Protections for Teens policy, which stipulates that the company disables ad personalization and restricts sensitive ad categories for users below 18 years of age.
The report claims that Google navigated around this policy by employing a demographic category labeled as “unknown.” On its website, Google defines “unknown” as relating to individuals whose age, gender, parental status, or household income have not been identified. However, it is reported that the company possesses numerous data points on users categorized as unknown, including information about their location, app downloads, and online activity.
The publication also suggests that Google could accurately identify younger users within the unknown demographic. Reports indicate that the company deactivated other age groups, allowing only data from the unknown category, which reportedly held a greater concentration of minors. Unnamed sources claimed this was a tactic for Google to manipulate its internal system.
In response, Google stated, “We prohibit ads being personalized to people under-18, period. These policies go well beyond what is required and are supported by technical safeguards. We’ve confirmed that these safeguards worked properly here.” While the company did not deny the use of the unknown category, it mentioned intentions to conduct its own investigation into the situation.
Meta commented that Google’s option of using unknown targeting is accessible to all advertisers. Additionally, it stated, “We have clear principles we adhere to when it comes to how we market our apps to teens on other platforms.”
