In 2019, YouTube's CEO vowed to limit personalised data collection and halt tailored ads on "made for kids" content. By July 2023, however, YouTube seems to be using ad-targeting cookies for these videos, with renowned brands such as Mars and Samsung advertising on these channels.

Upon clicking these ads, viewer meta-data, potentially from children, might be shared with major brands and data brokers, including those previously penalised for privacy violations like Amazon and Facebook. Google’s own algorithm, Performance Max, has also been implicated in facilitating these questionable ad placements.

Further contradictions arise with Google's policies. Despite requiring parental consent for children's data collection, they've displayed adult-only product ads on child-focused videos. Advertisers have voiced difficulties in circumventing such placements due to Google's software, raising concerns about compliance and user trust.