Google sales reps allegedly keep telling advertisers how to target teens

Google representatives gave ad buyers tips on how they could reach teens, even though the company bars targeted advertisements to users under 18 based on their demographics, according to a report from AdWeek.

Three unnamed ad buyers told AdWeek that Google sales reps suggested that they might be able to reach teens by targeting a group of “unknown” users, whose “age, gender, parental status, or household income” Google doesn’t know. AdWeek said it also reviewed written documents backing up the sources’ claims. A Google spokesperson told AdWeek that the unknown category can include users who aren’t signed into their accounts or who’ve turned off personalized ad targeting.

Google’s stated policy is to “block ad targeting based on the age, gender, or interests of people under 18.” The AdWeek story is yet another example of Google reportedly helping ad buyers target teens through the use of its unknown user category, after the The Financial Times recently reported on a similar situation.

Google spokesperson Jacel Booth said in a statement that the company “strictly prohibit[s] ads being personalized to people under 18—full stop. Our policies are reinforced with technical protections, which continue to work properly. We take this matter very seriously, and as we’ve said, we will be taking additional action with sales representatives to reinforce that they must not help agencies or advertisers attempt to circumvent our policies.”

The reported behavior could potentially raise concerns under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits platforms from collecting personal information on kids under 13 without parental consent. An updated version of the law, which passed the Senate and awaits a House vote, would ban targeted advertising to kids under 17.

One unnamed agency buyer cited in the AdWeek article said they were “shocked” at how explicitly a Google rep allegedly suggested including the unknown category for a client’s media buy on YouTube, because they said teens may be included in that group. Another buyer at a brand told AdWeek that Google reps had reached out to suggest targeting users over 16 who may have disposable income, via the unknown category.

A third buyer who worked at an agency representing a large entertainment brand said Google reps offered the unknown category as a solution to possibly targeting some teens after the brand threatened to move its spend to Meta, which allows some targeting to teens.