European Commission seeks information about Google's 'secret advertising deal targeting teenagers' with Meta

The Financial Times reported that the European Commission has asked for more information about a 'secret advertising deal between Google and Meta that circumvented Google's guidelines and targeted teenagers.'

Brussels probes Google and Meta secret ads deal to target teens
https://www.ft.com/content/fac060e0-4778-4ea6-a040-12bb7bf75806

Brussels seeks more information on secret Google-Meta ads deal targeting teens, FT reports | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/brussels-probes-google-meta-secret-ads-deal-targeting-teens-ft-reports-2024-12-10/

EU digs further into Google and Meta's secret ad campaign targeting minors
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-digs-further-into-google-and-metas-secret-ad-campaign-targeting-minors-140047175.html

Google's ' Child Ad Serving Protection Policy ' prohibits targeted advertising to children on Google services, including YouTube. However, in August 2024, the Financial Times reported that Google and Meta had a secret agreement to circumvent the policy on the online treatment of minors and serve 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 experimented with targeting teenagers with Instagram ads by targeting users classified as 'unknown' in Google's user demographics. Google employees told Meta that many of these users are under the age of 18, which allows them to get around the guidelines and still serve targeted ads to teenagers.

Spark Foundry, the American subsidiary of Publicis, a major French advertising agency, used this mechanism to conduct a pilot program of targeted advertising in Canada in April 2024. Following this success, the campaign was expanded to the United States in May. There were plans to expand globally and to advertise not only Instagram but also other Meta apps, including Facebook, but the project was canceled following a report by the Financial Times.

The Financial Times recently reported that the European Commission ordered lawyers for Google's parent company, Alphabet, to review and collate data, presentation materials, internal chats and emails relating to a series of advertising campaigns targeting minors. The data was reportedly shown to European Commission officials, potentially sparking a formal investigation by the regulator.

Following the series of reports, Google held a virtual information session for advertising staff to review the company's policies and understand their responsibilities. In a statement to the Financial Times, Google said, 'Our safeguards to protect teenagers, such as our ban on personalized ads, are industry-leading and continue to work. We are providing up-to-date internal training to ensure our sales team remains aware of our policies and technical protections.'