A reported clandestine agreement between Meta and Google has sparked controversy over the alleged targeting of 13 to 17-year-olds through Instagram ads on YouTube, a move that appears to violate Google’s regulations against advertising to minors, as per the Financial Times.
The Financial Times revealed that the Instagram campaign specifically aimed at a user group designated as ‘unknown’ within the advertising system. It was suggested that Google was aware that the ‘unknown’ category predominantly encompassed individuals under the age of 18, and efforts were purportedly made to conceal the true nature of the campaign.
Investigations by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE unveiled that the ‘unknown’ demographic classification on Google Ads’ help page refers to individuals whose age, gender, parental status, or household income is undisclosed, enabling advertisers to reach a wider audience. However, insights such as app downloads and online activities reportedly allowed Google to identify a substantial portion of the ‘unknown’ group as users under 18.
The pilot marketing initiative reportedly commenced in Canada and subsequently expanded to the US, allegedly in collaboration with Spark Foundry, a US subsidiary of the prominent advertising entity Publicis. Google is said to have launched an inquiry into the accusations, leading to the reported termination of the project.
In response to the allegations, Google declared a strict prohibition on personalized ads targeting individuals below 18 years of age, asserting the effectiveness of its technical safeguards. The company also pledged additional measures to reinforce policies preventing attempts to circumvent these regulations.
Meanwhile, Meta purportedly emphasized its transparent approach to marketing its applications to young audiences as platforms for social interaction, community engagement, and interest exploration, as detailed by the Financial Times.
This development unfolds following a significant antitrust ruling against Google, where a US judge determined that the tech giant had established an unlawful monopoly by manipulating search engine preferences. The ruling underscored Google’s dominant market position, particularly in smartphone searches, and highlighted its strategies of securing default search engine status through financial agreements with companies like Apple and Samsung.
Judge Amit Mehta’s comprehensive ruling emphasized Google’s substantial financial outlay in 2021 to uphold its dominant market share and maintain its search engine as the default option on smartphones and browsers.
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