San Diego County sues AppLovin for circumventing parental controls to target minors with inappropriate advertisements
San Diego County filed a lawsuit against mobile advertising technology firm AppLovin, alleging it deliberately bypassed Apple and Google's tracking restrictions to serve children ads for dating apps, alcohol, vaping products, and sexual content. The complaint claims AppLovin collected detailed personal information from children's devices without parental consent, including location and school attendance data, which it used to power its advertising system. The case is one of three consumer protection lawsuits filed by the county, with another targeting Roblox for inadequate child safety protections.
San Diego County's newly established Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit filed the complaint after determining that federal agencies have reduced their oversight of consumer protection matters. The lawsuit presents documented evidence of inappropriate content, including screenshots depicting a sexualized AI chatbot advertisement displayed within a children's puzzle game and cannabis product promotions served on devices configured with parental safety features enabled.
AppLovin's stated corporate policies explicitly prohibit harvesting data from minors and targeting them through its advertising platform. The company previously underwent a separate investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission examining its data collection methods, though that inquiry concluded without resulting in enforcement recommendations.
The case could reshape how mobile advertising platforms balance commercial interests with child safety obligations. If successful, the lawsuit may establish stronger legal precedent requiring adtech companies to respect parental control settings and face penalties for circumventing device-level protections. The outcome could influence whether platforms modify their data collection practices and may prompt increased scrutiny of similar business models across the mobile advertising industry, potentially affecting both consumer protection standards and industry profitability.