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European regulators are ramping up scrutiny of Google’s advertising practices after revelations of a covert partnership with Meta that circumvented Google’s own rules on protecting minors online. The European Commission has requested extensive documentation from Google regarding a series of ad campaigns promoting Instagram to teenagers on YouTube, signalling the possibility of a formal investigation.
The investigation stems from an internal Google probe, codenamed ‘Tangerine Owl,’ which unearthed data, presentations, emails, and internal communications related to the campaigns, reports Financial Times.
Following media reports, these findings were presented before the European Commission in October.
Commission officials are assessing whether the campaigns violated EU regulations, but no official statement has been made. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has reportedly instructed its legal teams to collate and review all relevant materials.
The controversy centres on ad campaigns to promote Instagram to teenage audiences on YouTube. Despite Google’s policy against ad personalisation for minors, internal discussions revealed that Google employees guided Meta in exploiting a loophole. The campaigns targeted users categorised as ‘unknown,’ a group that, according to internal data, skewed under 18.
This strategy allowed Spark Foundry, an ad agency under French advertising giant Publicis, to launch a pilot program in Canada. The campaign’s success led to an expansion in the United States, with plans for global rollout and inclusion of other Meta platforms, including Facebook. However, after the media reports in August, Google terminated the project.
In response to the scandal, Google has reinforced its advertising policies. Virtual town halls were held for advertising teams to reassert compliance expectations, and employees were required to acknowledge their responsibilities.
The company also banned targeting the ‘unknown’ user group and restricted demographic targeting to users aged 18 and above.
Despite these measures, Google has reportedly distanced itself from Meta on youth-targeted campaigns. A scheduled quarterly business review with Meta and Spark Foundry was abruptly cancelled.
However, there’s no love lost between the two big tech companies. Given their significant market roles, the two tech giants continue collaborating on other advertising initiatives. The two companies were discovered to have illegally shared the tax data of millions of US citizens. Both companies also worked together to delay the passage of the Kids Online Safety Act.
In September 2024, the EU ruled that Google’s €2.42 billion fine would stay, marking the end of a seven-year battle. Similarly, the Competition Commission of India imposed a $162 million fine on Google for anti-competitive practices.
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