According to a Financial Times report, Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google allegedly conspired to circumvent policies of targeting minors through advertisements. The report cited documents and people familiar with the matter stating that Google made a marketing project for Meta that aimed to target YouTube (owned by Alphabet) viewers in the age group of 13-17 years. The project showed advertisements promoting Meta’s photo and video apps.
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Meta used the YouTube campaign to attract more younger audiences to its Instagram app. The Instagram campaign intentionally named the target audience as “unknown” in the advertising system, as these were minors. Moreover, documents revealed that deliberate steps were taken to hide the true intent of the campaign. Interestingly, Google is said to be bending its own policies of prohibiting personalization and targeting of under-18-year-olds.
Here’s How the Campaign Shaped Up
The duo started working on the campaign sometime late last year. Google was eager to increase its advertising revenues and Meta was struggling to gain the attention of younger audiences from competitors such as TikTok.
Apparently, the timing of the campaign coincided with the appearance of Meta’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to address the U.S. Congress in January this year. Zuckerberg apologized to families of children who were traumatized or made victims of sexual abuse on his Family of Apps (FOA).
Meta and Google worked with Spark Foundry, an American subsidiary of renowned French advertising company Publicis, to begin the pilot program in Canada between February and April this year. Following its presumed success, the campaign was tested in the U.S. in May. The duo even planned to expand the promotional campaign to other countries and include Meta’s other apps in the campaign.
The report noted that while these pilot programs were much smaller, Google hoped to convert them into a more meaningful, full-fledged partnership with Meta. Google then intended to include more high-budget “brand” advertisements on YouTube and other Alphabet platforms.
Responses to FT’s Queries
When FT inquired, Google instantly began investigating the matter. As of now, the project stands canceled. Google also replied, saying that it strictly followed policies prohibiting ads to minors and refused to target under-18s through its YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Meta responded that it did not circumvent any personalization rules and adhered to its own as well as competitors’ policies when advertising.
Meanwhile, last week, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) bill to protect children from exploitation by apps and platforms. Commenting on Google and Meta’s partnership, senators contend that the big tech companies continue to exploit younger audiences by finding loopholes and circumventing rules.
Should I Invest in Meta or Alphabet?
Both Meta and Alphabet are trillion-dollar companies and earn a Strong Buy consensus rating from Wall Street. Furthermore, both companies boast a TipRanks Smart Score of “Perfect 10,” implying that they are highly likely to outperform market expectations.
