Regulators seek more data on secret Google-Meta ad deal targeting teens, FT says

European regulators have asked Google for more information about its now-scrapped secret advertising partnership with Instagram-parent Meta Platforms, which ignored the search company’s rules on how minors should be treated online, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

In August, an FT investigation showed how Google helped Meta in a secret marketing project targeting 13- to 17-year-olds who used YouTube, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, to promote Meta’s Instagram.

The partnership, which expanded to the US and was to go global, has since been scrapped, FT said.

Nonetheless, European Commission officials have been looking into the partnership and have sent collated information to regulators who are deciding on whether to act, the latest FT report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

In October, the officials ordered Alphabet’s lawyers to gather and review data, presentations, internal chats and emails related to the ad campaigns, the report said.

“The safeguards we have to protect teens, like prohibiting ad personalisation, are industry leading and continue to work,” a Google spokesperson said in an email.

The company has held updated internal training to ensure its sales teams remain aware of policies and technical protections, the spokesperson said.

Meta, which also owns Facebook, and the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Google restricts ad-targeting based on the age, gender or interests of people under 18 years.

Earlier this year, Meta rolled out enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram accounts of users under 18 in a significant overhaul aimed at addressing growing concerns about the negative effects of social media.

Reuters