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WSJ (front page article) - The Facebook Ads Teens Aren't Supposed to See (print title)
Last edited Sun Mar 2, 2014, 01:35 PM - Edit history (1)
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304703804579381552745011772
Nude Webcams and Diet Drugs: the Facebook Ads Teens Aren't Supposed to See (online title)
By JEFF ELDER CONNECT
Feb. 27, 2014 5:51 p.m. ET (online)
Feb. 28, 2014 (print edition, p 1, center above the fold)
"Who do you like?" asked recent ads on Facebook, FB -0.70% featuring young women in alluring poses.
Some of the ads were configured to reach young teens, who were invited to join an app called Ilikeq that let others rate their attractiveness, comment on their photos and say if they would like to date them.
That's how 14-year-old Erica Lowder's picture ended up on display to adult men online. Users of Ilikeq, one of Facebook's fastest-growing "lifestyle" apps, were able to click through to the Indianapolis girl's Facebook page.
"How can Facebook say here's how we're going to protect your kids, then sell all these ads to weird apps and sites that open kids up to terrible things?" asked Erica's mother, Dawn Lowder.
The case offers a glimpse into how young Facebook users are sometimes exposed to ads inappropriate for them. A 14-year-old girl in Washington state said she "liked" an ad that led to the Facebook page of a nude webcam-modeling site. A 17-year-old boy in an Oakland, Calif., neighborhood beset by gun violence repeatedly saw an ad for a concealed-carry handgun holster. (See what it is like to create an ad on Facebook and how targeting works.)
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Nude Webcams and Diet Drugs: the Facebook Ads Teens Aren't Supposed to See (online title)
By JEFF ELDER CONNECT
Feb. 27, 2014 5:51 p.m. ET (online)
Feb. 28, 2014 (print edition, p 1, center above the fold)
"Who do you like?" asked recent ads on Facebook, FB -0.70% featuring young women in alluring poses.
Some of the ads were configured to reach young teens, who were invited to join an app called Ilikeq that let others rate their attractiveness, comment on their photos and say if they would like to date them.
That's how 14-year-old Erica Lowder's picture ended up on display to adult men online. Users of Ilikeq, one of Facebook's fastest-growing "lifestyle" apps, were able to click through to the Indianapolis girl's Facebook page.
"How can Facebook say here's how we're going to protect your kids, then sell all these ads to weird apps and sites that open kids up to terrible things?" asked Erica's mother, Dawn Lowder.
The case offers a glimpse into how young Facebook users are sometimes exposed to ads inappropriate for them. A 14-year-old girl in Washington state said she "liked" an ad that led to the Facebook page of a nude webcam-modeling site. A 17-year-old boy in an Oakland, Calif., neighborhood beset by gun violence repeatedly saw an ad for a concealed-carry handgun holster. (See what it is like to create an ad on Facebook and how targeting works.)
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Article title on zerohedge blog: 'How Facebook Exploits Underage Girls in its Quest for Ad Revenue'
