Google advised users on how to display 'ads targeted at teenagers' in violation of its own policies
Google has established a '
Google Suggests Buyers Target Teens, Against Policy
https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/exclusive-google-suggests-buyers-target-teens-going-against-its-policies/
Report: Google encouraged advertisers to target teens on YouTube
https://searchengineland.com/google-advertisers-target-teens-youtube-445403
Google sales reps apparently keep telling advertisers how to target teens - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/21/24225326/google-target-teens-ads-unknown-users
In early August 2024, foreign media Financial Times reported that Google and Meta had entered into a secret agreement to circumvent policies on the online treatment of minors and deliver Instagram targeted ads to teenagers on YouTube.
Google and Meta reportedly signed a secret advertising deal to target teenagers - GIGAZINE
Internal documents obtained by the Financial Times reveal that Google was experimenting with showing Instagram ads targeted to teenagers to users classified as 'unknown' in its advertising system.
Users classified as 'unknown' in user attributes include people who are not signed in to their accounts or who have turned off personalized ads. Some of these people are not minors, but many are.
According to three advertisers who spoke to Adweek, Google salespeople also advised advertisers other than Meta that they could deliver targeted ads to teenagers by targeting users classified as 'unknown.'
The first advertiser, whose identity was withheld in the article, worked with a client who was indirectly targeting teenagers by targeting parents with teenage children. In an email sent to the advertiser in August 2024, a Google sales representative advised the advertiser that users classified as 'unknown' may be teenagers and that they should be targeted for ad delivery.
'I was shocked that the sales rep was so blatant in giving me advice,' the first advertiser told Adweek, adding that they didn't know teenagers were classified as 'unknown' to begin with.
The second advertiser testified about an exchange between a representative of an entertainment brand client of the advertiser and a Google sales representative. According to the story, in one meeting, the client complained that he couldn't deliver targeted ads to teenagers on YouTube and threatened to switch to Meta. The Google sales representative suggested that he deliver targeted ads to users classified as 'unknown.'
The Google sales rep also advised a third advertiser that by delivering targeted ads to a pool of 'unknown' users, they could reach 'users over the age of 16 with disposable income.'
A Google spokesperson told Adweek, 'We strictly prohibit personalized advertising to users under the age of 18. Our policies are strengthened by technical safeguards and continue to work properly. We take this issue very seriously and, as we have said before, will be taking additional steps to ensure our sales representatives do not facilitate agencies and advertisers' attempts to circumvent our policies.'
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