Advertising for young people: EU puts Google and Meta under the microscope

According to a media report, the EU Commission could launch an official investigation into an advertising partnership between Google and Meta in which Google's own rules for the protection of minors were apparently circumvented. The Commission has therefore requested further information from Google, reports the Financial Times, citing anonymous sources.

The reason for this are advertising campaigns for Instagram on YouTube, which the Financial Times first reported on in the summer. Contrary to the company's own rules, which prohibit targeted marketing to minors, Google helped the advertising client Meta to reach young people in particular with the Instagram campaigns. Google is said to have advised targeting the Instagram campaigns at the "Unknown" user group because experience has shown that this group tends to be younger.

"Unknown" target group

The Financial Times report has also brought the EU Commission onto the scene. The newspaper reported on Tuesday that the regulators in Brussels have requested comprehensive information on the campaigns from Google's parent company Alphabet. Now that Google has submitted data, presentations and emails relating to the campaigns, the Commission is to decide whether to launch an official investigation.

According to the Financial Times, Google has also already taken action. The campaigns, which according to the report were initially successful in Canada, have been discontinued. Google has tightened up the rules so that advertisers can no longer exclusively target the "Unknown" audience. In addition, the rules regarding advertising for minors have been clarified internally.

(vbr)