STOP TARGETED ADVERTISING TO KIDS
Children are bombarded with advertising online, much of it precision
targeted and highly manipulative.
Unlike on TV, there are no rules limiting the the number of adverts shown to kids online.
It's time there were.
And it's time to stop targeted advertising to children, full stop.
The Problem:
Children are targeted in increasingly sophisticated ways with adverts that are tailored specifically for them based on large amounts of sensitive personal information.
Decades of research shows that young children are unable to reliably discern what is and isn’t an advert, and are especially susceptible to manipulation.
The materialistic values expressed and reinforced in most adverts are damaging to children’s wellbeing and to the environment.
The scale of change required to address the environmental crises we face is incompatible with our consumer culture. Curbing consumerism is not possible without addressing excessive advertising.
What do we want?
Websites popular with children should:
Comply with the law and stop targeting under 13s
Turn off targeting by default for under 18s
Cap ads to 10% of social media content
In detail
The explosion of unregulated, targeted online advertising and the urgent need to address it
presents an opportunity to reflect on the ethics of advertising to children in general.
Read more about our work to reduce targeted advertising to children in our position paper
Parents Against Pressure
We want to work with parents concerned about the bombardment of young children with adverts.
To learn more about our campaign, please contact [email protected].