Source: NYTimes, TheDrum
A study by the University of Michigan Medical School, which investigated 135 Google Play apps, found that 95% of children’s education apps in the Google Play store have at least one type of deceptive advertising in violation of FTC rules, New York Times reported.
The study found that of the 135 tested apps, 85 were classed as ‘free’ but carried some form of advertising while 88% of the remaining 50 paid for apps also incorporated advertising.
These include pop-up ads with disturbing imagery, ads that are difficult for children to click out of and games that offer points for ad engagement, all of which are not properly labeled.
The ads appear not only in obscure apps, but even in those by major brands such as Disney, which takes kids to a digital store when they click on a snowman in the game “Olaf’s Adventures.”
Among the more egregious examples uncovered were banner ads for bipolar disorder treatments, depictions of characters crying when paid for items were not unlocked and interruptions from pop-up ads.
Report author Jenny Radesky commented: “Our findings show that the early childhood app market is a wild west, with a lot of apps appearing more focused on making money than the child’s play experience. I’m concerned about digital disparities as children from lower-income families are more likely to play free apps, which are packed with more distracting and persuasive ads.”
A coalition of 20 organizations are backing calls for an official investigation into these “manipulative, inappropriate and deceptive in-app ads”, according to TheDrum.
