Google and Meta’s Controversial Teen Ad Targeting Project Revealed

Today, the Financial Times (FT) revealed a secret collaboration between Google and Meta. The two tech giants, worked together on a marketing initiative to target Instagram ads at teenagers on YouTube. This effort bypassed Google’s own restrictions on advertising to minors.

According to the FT, the project aimed to promote Instagram to 13- to 17-year-old YouTube users by directing ads to a category labeled “unknown.” This category, while broad, was known to disproportionately include younger users, thereby sidestepping Google’s policies that prohibit targeting ads to under-18s based on demographics.

The two Silicon Valley giants, typically fierce rivals as the top two online advertising platforms, began this joint effort late last year, as reported by the FT. This initiative was part of a broader strategy to address declining ad revenues for Google, and to combat Meta’s challenges in retaining younger users, amid rising competition from TikTok.

Google stated, ” We prohibit ads being personalised to people under-18, period.” Despite this, the Financial Times points out that the company did not deny using the “unknown” loophole, stating, “We’ll also be taking additional action to reinforce with sales representatives that they must not help advertisers or agencies run campaigns attempting to work around our policies.”

Meta defended its actions, stating that selecting the “unknown” audience did not constitute a violation of rules. However, It did not answer inquiries regarding whether the staff knew that the “unknown” group had a younger age demographic.

The controversy unfolds as the U.S. Senate recently passed the Kids Online Safety Act, aimed at bolstering online protections for children. Concurrently, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

This controversy underscores a growing scrutiny on how major tech companies manage and manipulate data, particularly concerning vulnerable demographics like minors. The ongoing developments in this case could set important precedents for how online platforms handle and safeguard user data.