Google sales representatives have been accused of providing ad buyers with tips on how to target teenage users, despite the company’s policy prohibiting targeted advertising to users under the age of 18, according to a report from Adweek.
According to a recent report by Adweek, three ad buyers have claimed that Google sales representatives suggested targeting teens through the company’s “unknown” user category, which includes users whose age, gender, parental status, or household income is not known to Google. The buyers also shared written documents were reviewed by Adweek, supporting their claims.
Google’s official policy strictly prohibits ad targeting based on the age, gender, or interests of individuals under 18. However, this is not the first time the company has been accused of helping ad buyers target teens through the use of its unknown user category. The Financial Times recently reported on a similar situation.
As Breitbart News previously reported:
According to documents reviewed by the Financial Times and insider sources, Google worked with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta on an advertising campaign that deliberately targeted a group of YouTube users labeled as “unknown” in its advertising system, which the company knew skewed towards under-18s. The project disregarded Google’s policies that prohibit personalizing and targeting ads to minors, including serving ads based on demographics and circumventing its own guidelines.
