Google and Meta Accused of Teen Ad Targeting

Google staff have been accused of exploiting a loophole to target ads at children. The workaround reportedly broke company policy but not any existing laws.

According to the Financial Times, the workaround was done in partnership with Meta, which wanted a way to advertise Instagram on YouTube and target 13 to 17 year olds. (Source: ft.com)

Normally that would be impossible under Google's rules for targeting, which don't let advertisers specify ages under 18 when selecting who does and doesn't see an ad.

Known Unknowns

However, the Financial Times claims Google staff not only knew Meta wanted to target teens but worked with them to find a way to do it. The solution was to target the ads at a group which Google's systems simply labeled as "unknown".

Google knew that this group was "skewed" towards people aged under 18. That makes sense as various laws and policies make it harder to gather information about under-18s, making it more likely they'd wind up in the category. Contrastingly, it's very hard to imagine Google not having enough information about an adult user to put them into distinct advertising categories.

The tactic was used for trial campaigns in Canada and then the US this year. It worked well enough that those involved planned to extend the advertising to the rest of the world and to advertise Facebook as well as Instagram.

However, following the Financial Times contacting Google for comment on the story, the entire project appears to have been cancelled.

Law May Change

Google told the Financial Times that "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." (Source: lifehacker.com)

That appears to be something of a technicality, with Google reasoning that the ads in question were not specifically targeted at under 18s. However, the Financial Times notes its internal policies also ban "proxy targeting" that's designed to get around the guidelines and have the same outcome.

The incident shows potential problems with proposed legislation that would ban targeting under 17s rather than leaving it to company policy. The Senate recently approved such a measure, though it's unclear if it will become law before the current session of Congress ends.

What's Your Opinion?

Is this just a technicality or has Google undermined its own policies? Should companies be allowed to target ads at children? Are you surprised Meta feels the need to advertise Facebook and Instagram in the first place?