Documents released by the Financial Times reveal that Google was working on a marketing project for Meta that aimed to target YouTube users between the ages of 13 and 17 with ads promoting the photo and video apps.
The Instagram campaign’s target audience, marked as “unknown,” was children under the age of 18. According to the FT, the documents suggest the true purpose of the campaign was hidden.
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The Google Ads help page lists this an “unknown” demographic category, which includes people whose age, gender, parental status or household income are not supposedly identified, allowing advertisers to reach a “significantly wider audience” when this category is selected. The help page also explains that Google sometimes “estimates people’s demographics based on their activity on Google sites or the Display Network.”
The company gave the following example: When people browse YouTube or sites in the Display Network, Google may store an identifier in their browser via a cookie. This identifier may be associated with specific demographic categories based on the sites they visit.
Personalized ads not for under 18s
“We prohibit personalized ads to anyone under the age of 18,” a Google spokesperson said. “These policies go well beyond what is necessary and are supported by technical safeguards. We have confirmed that these safeguards worked properly.”
A Google spokesperson also said the company will take additional steps to educate sales representatives that they should not help advertisers or agencies run campaigns that attempt to circumvent its policies.
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Meta’s YouTube campaign to attract young users to Instagram was already underway in January, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the US Congress. The FT reported that during the hearing, Zuckerberg apologized to the families of children who had been sexually exploited and abused on the platform he founded.
According to unofficial reports, Google and Meta would work with Publicis Groupe-owned agency Spark Foundry to launch a small pilot program in Canada between February and April 2024.
Tests in Canada and then also in the USA
Following the success of the pilot program in Canada, the test was expanded to the United States in May, with plans to expand it to international markets and promote other Meta apps such as Facebook, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the matter. While Google and Meta are rivals, this would have provided an opportunity to build a “full-funnel” relationship.
“We are open to marketing our apps to teens as a place where they can connect with friends, find a community and discover their interests,” a Meta spokesperson told Media Daily News. “The option to target ‘unknown’ Google users is available to all advertisers — not just Meta — and we have clear policies that we follow when it comes to how we promote our apps to teens on other platforms, including not using teens’ interest information to target them with ads.”
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Meta disagrees that selecting a broad group of “unknowns” — which Google makes available to all advertisers and which encompasses a diverse group of users, including adults and teens — circumvents Google’s policies.
Despite the nuances, Meta has been sued by approximately 41 states and Washington, D.C., for targeting minors. About 33 states have sued Meta for implementing manipulative practices targeting young users. The lawsuit focuses on the practice’s impact on minors through advertising, according to Google Gemini data.
The FT reported that after contacting Google, the company launched an investigation into the allegations. The project has since been cancelled.
