Google sales reps allegedly keep telling advertisers how to target teens

Google representatives gave advertisement buyers tips connected however they could scope teens, adjacent though the institution bars targeted advertisements to users nether 18 based connected their demographics, according to a study from AdWeek.

Three unnamed advertisement buyers told AdWeek that Google income reps suggested that they mightiness beryllium capable to scope teens by targeting a radical of “unknown” users, whose “age, gender, parental status, oregon household income” Google doesn’t know. AdWeek said it besides reviewed written documents backing up the sources’ claims. A Google spokesperson told AdWeek that the chartless class tin see users who aren’t signed into their accounts oregon who’ve turned disconnected personalized advertisement targeting.

Google’s stated policy is to “block advertisement targeting based connected the age, gender, oregon interests of radical nether 18.” The AdWeek communicative is yet different illustration of Google reportedly helping advertisement buyers people teens done the usage of its chartless idiosyncratic category, aft the The Financial Times recently reported connected a akin situation.

Google spokesperson Jacel Booth said successful a connection that the institution “strictly prohibit[s] ads being personalized to radical nether 18—full stop. Our policies are reinforced with method protections, which proceed to enactment properly. We instrumentality this substance precise seriously, and arsenic we’ve said, we volition beryllium taking further enactment with income representatives to reenforce that they indispensable not assistance agencies oregon advertisers effort to circumvent our policies.”

The reported behaviour could perchance rise concerns nether the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits platforms from collecting idiosyncratic accusation connected kids nether 13 without parental consent. An updated mentation of the law, which passed the Senate and awaits a House vote, would prohibition targeted advertizing to kids nether 17.

One unnamed bureau purchaser cited successful the AdWeek nonfiction said they were “shocked” astatine however explicitly a Google rep allegedly suggested including the chartless class for a client’s media bargain connected YouTube, due to the fact that they said teens whitethorn beryllium included successful that group. Another purchaser astatine a marque told AdWeek that Google reps had reached retired to suggest targeting users implicit 16 who whitethorn person disposable income, via the chartless category.

A 3rd purchaser who worked astatine an bureau representing a ample amusement marque said Google reps offered the chartless class arsenic a solution to perchance targeting immoderate teens aft the marque threatened to determination its walk to Meta, which allows immoderate targeting to teens.