New Adalytics Report Claims YouTube is Violating is Own Policies on Kids Content

YouTube appears to be violating a number of its own policies relating to advertising on kids’ content, according to a new report today from Adalytics, an ad quality and transparency platform. These violations could result in collection and sharing of childrens’ data, while also leading to misplaced and wasted ad spend for brands and agencies. The report, released weeks after a previous Adalytics report accused YouTube of violating its own standards for TrueView buys, places the trustworthiness of YouTube’s ad offering under fresh scrutiny. The new report can be broken up into two central claims. The first is that Google collects data on users who watch kids’ videos (beyond that which is necessary for YouTube’s basic functioning), which the platform has previously pledged not to do. This includes serving of ads based on demographic and behavioural data, and tracking users who click on ads. The second, related claim is that a lot of advertiser spend is ending up on made-for-kids videos even in cases where advertisers are specifically trying to avoid children’s content. Anonymous media buyers cited in the report say these allegations are concerning. One source responded that “Google has failed advertisers, again”, adding that advertisers are “overdue real
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