Reuters: Consumer and child rights groups have asked the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Google's new app-service, YouTube Kids.
The organizations claim that Google's new app targets young audiences with ads served within the app's page content.
The new YouTube Kids service, which first launched in February, features branded channels run by companies like McDonalds and Fisher-Price.
It features kid-friendly content like cartoons, but also uses ads featuring the same characters — a practice banned on U.S. cable TV by the Federal Communications Commission.
Critics of Google's new service also argue that YouTube does not report when other users' content, such as unboxing videos of new games, is sponsored by companies and displayed for advertising purposes.
Child advocacy groups filed all of the above observations with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today, asking it to investigate the matter further.
A YouTube spokesperson told Reuters:
“We have worked with many child advocacy groups during the development of YouTube Kids and are always open to feedback on ways to improve the app. The signatories of this letter did not contact us directly and we disagree with their claims.”
The strange thing, of course, would be if they agreed. Would you really want advertising content to be displayed in what your children watch?
It should be mentioned that in Greece the issue is not unknown, as all television channels show advertisements unhindered in the children's program zones.
