The independent, non-partisan organization Reset Australia says Facebook has profiled young users and teenagers with sensitive advertising content such as smoking, gambling and extreme weight loss. The organization is calling for measures to regulate these ads.
Facebook restricted advertising to underage users after Australian researchers found that the social media website was profiling young people for anti-aging interests. This move underscores the need for external oversight and regulation.
In April, Reset Australia announced that Facebook was profiling underage users on controversial issues such as smoking, gambling, extreme weight loss, alcohol, and selling profile access to advertisers for direct, targeted advertising.
Facebook, which also owns Instagram, has announced a series of security measures to protect teenagers. This includes that advertisers are prohibited from addressing users under the age of 18.
“Facebook makes money by enabling advertisers to target teenagers on the basis of anti-aging interests,” said Chris Cooper, Executive Director of Reset Australia.
Reset Australia’s study concluded that Facebook’s own system was profiling young people and approving dubious ads. The ads covered cocktail recipes, gambling, vaping, and extreme weight loss.
Cooper warns that Facebook won’t stop profiling children “only that advertisers won’t be allowed to target them”.
“There is no obligation that Facebook itself does not use this profiling for its own purposes,” says Cooper.
Cooper calls for meaningful public oversight of how these platforms collect and use young people’s data.
“Big tech needs regulation so that it can be operated in such a way that it meets public standards. We shouldn’t let it continue to make its own rules. “
Facebook’s new security measures, which made Instagram private to anyone under the age of 16 and crackdown on unwanted contacts, made it appear that the social media giant was proactive for the best of the kids, but in reality it was just a response to an incoming national player legislation.
This year, the United Kingdom and Ireland’s Age Appropriateness Code applies to Child-Friendly Approach to Computing, which calls for stricter controls on how young people interact with the Internet.
“In some countries, Instagram profiles are automatically private until the user is 18 years old, while in others it is only until 16 years old. What is the difference between an 18 year old in the UK and a 16 year old in the UK? Australia, which she chooses for such treatment? ”Cooper asks.
“Facebook doesn’t stick to these changes, but chooses which children it will protect and which not,” laments Cooper.
Ireland’s policy for a child-centered approach to data processing also calls for an end to child profiling for advertising purposes.
With the two new laws to be introduced, Cooper says, British and Irish children will not be targeted for ads based on their gender, but Australian children will.
Reset Australia says it is advocating that Australia introduce a similar data code for children as part of the federal government’s privacy review.
In the event of a takeover, social media giants and technologies will be forced to take children’s interests into account. It would include extensive data controls on young people and restrict targeted commercial advertising, ensuring that Australia’s children enjoy the same, if not better, protection.
“We shouldn’t rely on Facebook to regulate itself or other countries to dictate standards – Australia needs a code of regulation that governs how data from children and adolescents is collected and used,” concludes Cooper.
You can find the full report here.
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