Google-owned YouTube will no longer deliver targeted ads to children, after being hit with a “multi-million-dollar” fine.
It was reported in June that YouTube was under investigation from the FTC in the US over complaints it had failed to protect the privacy of children using the site.
YouTube has been fined a “multi-million-dollar” sum over the matter according to the FTC, although the exact details and size of the fine are unclear.
It is now believed the video-sharing platform will be getting rid of these ads altogether to ensure it is in line with regulations.
According to Bloomberg reports, YouTube is “finalising plans” to end targeted advertising on videos children are likely to view.
The popularity of the platform amongst those aged 13 and under has long been a problem for Google.
It has previously been accused of recommending videos of children to paedophiles and has been forced to establish YouTube Kids to aid some of the issues.
Comments on videos starring children are now often disabled and recommendations that “put children at risk” have been limited.
The move to end targeted advertising on these videos would be another effort in making the platform more ‘family-friendly’, however, it would also present some challenges.
It would be difficult for the company to definitively decide when a video is and isn’t targeted at children, as channels with a large child following may have been originally targeted at older demographics.
There are also questions over how YouTube would enforce the change.
