Groups call to probe Android apps found as marketing to kids

Some apps for kids found on Google's App Store inappropriately encourage young people to look at ads or make purchases, according to two consumer groups who cited a new study calling for an investigation by US federal authorities.

"Popular apps for preschool kids are rife with marketing," Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Child Without Advertising, said in a press release.

Golin Group and the Center for Digital Democracy said the US Federal Trade Commission should take a close look at the market for Android apps for young children. Application manufacturers are mistakenly marketing free apps that require in-app purchases and manipulating kids to watch and shop, the groups said.

Juliana Henderson, a spokeswoman for the commission, declined to comment.

The groups cited a content analysis published Oct. 26 by the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan who surveyed 135 applications – 39 from a previous study and the 96 most downloaded in the category "5 years and under" from the app store Google Play – and found that all but six applications were at least one of the advertising.

For example, in Jigsaw Puzzle Kids Animals, pop-up ads appear when a player finishes a puzzle. Purchases are available at the Strawberry Shortcake Bake Shop. And other apps have commercial characters, such as Hello Kitty, as game objects, according to the study.

"Disguising game ads and using cartoon characters to get children into integrated shopping is not only unethical but also illegal," Golin said.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., said in a statement that app developers on Google Play must adhere to the content and ad restrictions. For example, when an app publishes advertising or offers in-app purchases, the statement is added, Google Play reveals it.

The Michigan authors called their study the first to examine the advertising practices that young children are exposed to when they play with mobile and interactive media.

"We have seen high rates of mobile advertising through manipulative and disruptive methods," the authors concluded. "These findings have implications for the regulation of advertising, parents' media choices and the educational value of apps."

The regulation of television advertising in children's programs limits advertising, but there are no restrictions for mobile advertising, although children under eight spend about an hour a day using mobile devices, Michigan researchers.

The researchers said that they had not investigated whether Apple's iTunes Store apps were compliant with the company's guidelines banning links off the app. or purchase opportunities. However, they said that since Android is the most common operating system, they thought their findings reflected the experiences that families are likely to experience.

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