Google’s child-friendly YouTube app may be investigated by the FTC

YouTube for Kids seems great on the surface. It offers content that’s specially catered to children and allows parents to restrict usage, which means it’s perfect for parents who want to hand off a tablet to their children for a few hours. Now the service is under fire from industry watchdogs, who have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate YouTube’s advertisements. According to Mercury News, watchdogs are critical of the ads that are being inserted into YouTube for children, and some suggest that marketers are unfairly targeting children with what might be illegal ads. “This is the opening shot in a new battle with Google, Nickelodeon, Amazon, Netflix, Cartoon Network and others that are trying to cash in on this generation of young children,” Center for Digital Democracy director Jeff Chester told Mercury News. “It’s a battle for the hearts and minds and pocketbooks of America’s kids in the digital age.”