• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 8, 2024

Google and Meta reportedly had a secret deal to target Instagram ads to teenagers on YouTube, allegedly bypassing Google's rules on how minors are treated online.

Documents seen by the Financial Times reveal that Google worked on a marketing project for Meta designed to target 13- to 17-year-old users on YouTube with advertisements promoting photo and video apps.

The target audience group in the Instagram campaign labelled “unknown” was skewed toward children under the age of 18, according to the report, citing people who knew of the campaign. Documents seen by the FT suggests that the true intent of the campaign was hidden.

The Google Ads help page lists the “unknown” demographic category as people whose age, gender, parental status or household income are supposedly unidentified, and can allow advertisers to reach “a significantly wider audience” when selected.

The help page also goes on to explain that Google will sometimes "estimate people's demographic information based on their activity from Google properties or the Display Network."

The company provided this example: when people browse YouTube or sites on the Display Network, Google may store an identifier in their web browser, using a cookie -- with an identifier that may be associated with certain demographic categories, based on sites visited.

"We prohibit ads being personalized to people under 18,” said a Google spokesperson. “These policies go well beyond what is required and are supported by technical safeguards. We've confirmed that these safeguards worked properly."

The Google spokesperson said the company will take additional action to reinforce with sales representatives that they must not help advertisers or agencies run campaigns attempting to work around their policies.

Meta’s YouTube campaign intended to attract young users to Instagram had already been in the works in January when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the U.S. Congress. The FT reported that during the hearing, Zuckerberg apologized to families of children who had been victims of sexual exploitation and abuse on the platform that he founded.  

Google and Meta reportedly worked with Spark Foundry, a subsidiary of holding company Publicis, to launch a small pilot program in Canada between February and April 2024.

After success with the pilot program in Canada, the trial was extended into the U.S. in May, with plans to expand it into international markets and promote other Meta apps such as Facebook, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Although Google and Meta are rivals, this reportedly provided an opportunity to build a “full-funnel” relationship.

“We’ve been open about marketing our apps to teens as a place for them to connect with friends, find community, and discover their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Media Daily News. "Google’s 'unknown' targeting option is available to all advertisers - not just Meta - and we have clear principles we adhere to when it comes to how we market our apps to teens on other platforms, including not using information about their interests to target them with ads." 

Meta disagrees that selecting the broad group “unknown” -- which Google makes available to all advertisers and includes a mixed audience of users, including adults and teens -- constitutes a circumvention of Google’s policies.

Despite the nuances, Meta has been sued by about 41 states and Washington, D.C. for targeting ads to minors. About 33 states have sued Meta for deploying manipulative practices targeted toward young users.

This lawsuit focuses on the impact of the practices on minors through advertising, according to Google Gemini.

The FT reported that when it reached out to Google, the company initiated an investigation into the allegations. The project has since been cancelled.