The secret deal between Google and Meta
Google and Meta made a secret deal to target Instagram ads to teenagers on YouTube – this deal allowed Meta to circumvent Google's own rules – which prohibit targeting ads to users under 18 based on their data from other apps and websites.
The deal was revealed in a report by advocacy groups – Global Action Plan – which accused Meta of misleading the public and lawmakers regarding restrictions on targeted advertising to teenagers.
The report detailed how researchers created accounts registered as teenagers and discovered that Facebook was collecting data from them, even though Facebook announced it had changed its ad policy.
The secret deal between Google and Meta could raise suspicions among regulators regarding the collection of data from children and teenagers for targeted advertising.