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YouTube Kids app criticized as full of ads

The Columbian
Published: April 11, 2015, 5:00pm

WASHINGTON — The new YouTube Kids mobile app targets young children with unfair and deceptive advertising and should be investigated, a group of consumer advocates told the Federal Trade Commission in a letter Tuesday.

Google introduced the app in February as a “safer” place for kids to explore videos because it was restricted to “family-focused content.”

But consumer activists say the app is so stuffed with ads and product placements that it’s hard to tell the difference between entertainment and commercials. One example is a 7-minute video of Disney’s “Frozen” characters who appear as dolls inside a toy McDonald’s, eating ice cream and drinking Sprite.

Activists say digital media should be subject to the same rules as television, which limits ad content on kids’ programming.

“As a consumer, you should have the right to know who is trying to persuade you,” said Angela Campbell with the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law, who provided legal counsel to the coalition. In young children especially, “it takes unfair advantage of their trusting nature and lack of experience,” she added.

YouTube released a statement Monday: “When developing YouTube Kids, we consulted with numerous partners and child advocacy and privacy groups.”

According to the consumer groups’ letter, the videos mingle commercial and entertainment content in ways that wouldn’t be allowed on television. Search for “My Little Pony,” for example, and the first several options are lengthy advertisements for My Little Pony Play-Doh and toy kitchen sets, including one Play-Doh segment stretching 19 minutes.

“The fact that children are viewing the videos on a tablet or smartphone screen instead of on a television screen does not make it any less unfair and deceptive,” the letter states.

Groups that signed the letter were the Center for Digital Democracy, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children Now, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Consumers Union, Corporate Accountability International and Public Citizen.

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