Meta & Google secretly targeted 13-17 year olds with ads: reports

New Delhi: Meta and Google secretly targeted 13 to 17-year-olds with Instagram ads on YouTube, violating Google’s own policies against advertising to children, according to media reports.

Google reportedly used a category labeled “unknown” in its ad systems to disguise the targeting of younger users. This category includes individuals whose age, gender, or other demographic details are not specified, allowing advertisers to reach a broader audience.

Despite policies introduced in 2021 banning targeted ads based on the age, gender, or interests of users under 18, Google staff allegedly exploited this loophole. Reports indicate that Google could determine with high confidence that the “unknown” group included many younger users.

Spark Foundry, a subsidiary of Publicis, is said to have collaborated with Meta and Google to run this campaign in Canada from February to April, and trialed it in the US in May. 

The campaign aimed to expand internationally and promote additional Meta services amid declining ad revenues for Google and Meta's younger users shifting to TikTok.

Google has since launched an investigation and canceled the campaign. The company stated, “We prohibit ads being personalized to people under-18, period,” and pledged to enforce policies more strictly with its sales representatives.