Digital advertising giant allegedly served obscene ads to kids, graphic depictions of sex: lawsuit
Digital advertising giant AppLovin has allegedly been serving sexually explicit and violent ads in games played by kids – all while bypassing parental controls meant to shield them, according to allegations in a bombshell lawsuit filed on Monday.Filed in California state court, the lawsuit alleges that AppLovin – a $100 billion company that helps software developers sell ads and monetize their apps – has been “exposing children to graphic depictions of sex, violence, and sexual assault delivered directly to their mobile devices through games designed for and rated as safe for children.”Alarming screenshots included the lawsuit show a variety of scantily-clad cartoon women in sexually suggestive situations including bondage, as well as ads for alcohol, vaping devices and cannabis gummies that appeared in games that were rated “E for everyone” on Google’s Play Store.“While parents do everything they can to protect their kids playing mobile games from harmful content, AppLovin strips away those digital safeguards and steers obscene advertisements to children anyway,” according to the lawsuit filed by San Diego County officials.AppLovin representatives did not respond to a request for comment.San Diego County has accused AppLovin of violations under California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law.Its lawyers are seeking injunctive relief as well as unspecific restitution and civil penalties.AppLovin’s internal policies state that the company does not “knowingly collect personal information from children or serve advertisements to children,” according to its website.The lawsuit accused AppLovin of collecting vast troves of kids’ data through a technique called “fingerprinting” to target children.
The information gathered was allegedly “precise enough to pinpoint where kids live, where they study, and whether they are sleeping.”“AppLovin has turned child-friendly mobile games into a surveillance platform that tracks c...