Consumer advocates complain to FTC against new ad for YouTube Kids app

In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, a group of consumer advocates have complained that the new YouTube Kids mobile app targeted young children with unfair and deceptive advertising. They added the app should be investigated.

Google launched the app in February as a "safer" place for kids to explore videos due to the fact it was restricted to "family-focused content."

According to consumer activists, however, the app was so stuffed with advertisements and product placements that it was difficult tell  entertainment from commercials.

One example, a 7-minute video of Disney's "Frozen" characters who appeared as dolls inside a toy McDonald's, eating ice cream.

According to the activists, digital media should be subject to the same rules as television, which limited commercial content on kids' programming.

According to Angela Campbell who provided legal counsel to the coalition, as a consumer, one needed to have the right to know who was trying to persuade one, AP reported. Campbell is with the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law, and was providing legal counsel to the coalition.

In young children especially, it took advantage of their trusting nature and lack of experience.

YouTube released a statement Monday saying, "When developing YouTube Kids, we consulted with numerous partners and child advocacy and privacy groups. We are always open to feedback on ways to improve the app."

According to the advocacy groups, which include Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, the app violated federal laws in place since the 1970s that limited how advertisers targeted young children. The rules helped protect kids who could not distinguish between commercials and entertainment.

According to Dale Kunkel, a University of Arizona professor, this was the most hyper-commercialised media for kids he had ever seen, Los Angeles Times reported. 

Kunkel, specialised in children's media, and had helped draft the FTC complaint. He said, children did not understand the persuasive intent of advertising.

The coalition is pushing the FTC to "stop these and any other deceptive or unfair practices uncovered as a result of its investigation." The complaint marked one of the first times that advertising regulations were being used to monitor how digital programming was presented.