Advocates Urge FTC to Crack Down on Manipulative Tactics for Kids Ads

The FTC should develop policies for protecting minors from “pervasive, sophisticated and data-driven digital marketing practices,” the Center for Digital Democracy wrote the agency Monday with Fairplay, Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and more than 20 other groups. They cited manipulative tactics from influencers and fictional characters designed to exploit children’s developmental vulnerabilities. Research on digital advertising is limited but suggests children have less ability than adults to recognize advertising on digital media, the groups said. They suggested an FTC policy statement on digital marketing for minors. The groups filed the comment in response to the FTC's October event on digital advertising. The agency didn't comment.