Brussels probes Google-Meta secret ads deal targeting teens: Report

European Commission officials have been looking into the partnership and have sent collated information to regulators who are weighing on whether to act or not.

European regulators have asked Google for more information about its now-scrapped secret advertising partnership with Instagram-parent Meta Platforms that ignored the search company's rules on how minors should be treated online, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday (December 10).

An FT investigation revealed in August how Google helped Meta in a secret marketing project targeting 13- to 17-year-olds who use YouTube, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, to promote Meta's Instagram.

The partnership, which expanded to the U.S. and was to go global, has since been scrapped, FT said.

Nonetheless, European Commission officials have been looking into the partnership and have sent collated information to regulators who are weighing on whether to act, the latest FT report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

In October, the officials ordered Alphabet's lawyers to gather and review data, presentations, internal chats and emails related to the ad campaigns, the report said.

"The safeguards we have to protect teens, like prohibiting ad personalization, are industry leading and continue to work," a Google spokesperson said in an email.

The company has held updated internal training to ensure its sales teams remain aware of policies and technical protections, the spokesperson said.

Meta, which also owns Facebook, and the European Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Google restricts ad-targeting based on the age, gender or interests of people under 18.

Earlier this year, Meta rolled out enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram accounts of users under 18 in a significant overhaul aimed at addressing growing concerns about the negative effects of social media.