Secret Google-Meta Deal Targeted Teens on YouTube with Instagram Ads

Google and Meta have come under scrutiny for a secret advertising campaign targeting teenagers on YouTube, circumventing Google's policies designed to protect minors online. The campaign, aimed at promoting Instagram to users aged 13 to 17, used a group labeled "unknown" in Google's advertising system, which skewed towards under-18 users. This approach violated Google's rules against personalizing and targeting ads to minors. The initiative was reportedly driven by Meta's desire to reclaim younger users from competitors like TikTok and was part of a broader strategy to increase advertising revenue.

The campaign, which was piloted in Canada and tested in the US, was eventually canceled following an internal review by Google. Despite the cancellation, the incident coincides with the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act, which aims to protect children from harmful online content. Google has maintained that no registered users under 18 were directly targeted and continues to assert that its policies against personalizing ads to minors are robust. The revelation raises significant ethical and legal questions about the lengths to which tech companies might go to maintain their influence and revenue streams.