Business
San Diego sues AppLovin over explicit ads on kids games
Livemint··6d ago
San Diego County sued AppLovin, alleging it bypassed parental controls to serve ads for adult dating, alcohol, vaping and sexual content in children's games. The Monday Superior Court complaint says AppLovin collected precise location data from kids' devices. Screenshots show sexualized ads in a physics puzzle game on an Android phone set up for a six-year-old with Google controls on.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Parents using Google or Apple child controls may still see adult ads in kids' apps, the suit says.
- The county's new Consumer Fairness unit filed three cases Monday amid weaker federal enforcement.
- AppLovin's policies say it does not knowingly collect children's data or target kids.
What's Happening
- Roblox and 3D-printing firm Polymaker face separate suits from the same unit.
- The complaint alleges fingerprinting tracked children without parental consent.
- Cannabis gummy ads appeared on another parental-controlled device in the filing.
AppLovin ad targeting
- AppLovin powers ads inside mobile games and apps that use its technology.
- Developers typically integrate AppLovin to find users and sell in-app advertising.
- The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
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