YouTube has come under fire for running brands’ adverts on kid’s channels, which is believed to have led to the tracking and harvesting of children’s data.
Research outfit Analytics found that ads on the Google-owned video platform ran on kids’ channels containing trackers which could give advertisers the potential to retarget kids across the internet.
Not only does running ads on children’s channels pose a potential regulatory risk, the report explained, but it is also a waste of money for brands. In addition, the report calls the controls on Google’s AI-powered Performance Max advertising products into question.
Children’s channels which included adult-targeted ad campaigns included, ‘Blippi – Educational Videos for Kids’, ‘Fizzy Fun House – Educational Videos for Kids’ and ‘The Singing Walrus – English Songs for Kids’.
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The data follows YouTube being fined in 2019 for violating the children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), after running targeted ads on children’s content.
Despite this, media planners and buyers have found that Google’s controls designed to avoid targeting kids’ content, are often not adequate enough.
Independent Italian media agency, Aidem, which ran its campaign targeted at business people explicitly excluding “content suitable for families” CEO Giovanni Sollazzo told Adweek. The agency’s adverts specifically appeared on children’s channels such as stacyplays and lunacreciente, labelled with banners with messages such as ‘Try YouTube Kids’.
“Almost every campaign I have seen on YouTube has run on ‘made for kids,’” Sollazzo added. “All of them were not targeted at children.”
Another brand, Iris Worldwide, spoke about their experience running campaigns on the site.
“I have seen this on many campaigns in the past. I’ve also tried other methods of excluding ‘made for kids’ channels like excluding child-oriented keywords and categories,” said performance media director Keri Thomas.
“The ‘made for kids’ channels continue to appear in placement reports anyway.”
The news follows rival video platform, TikTok, being fined £12.7 million earlier this year for misusing children’s data.
Marketing Beat has contacted YouTube for comment.
