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AppLovin sued by San Diego County over explicit ads shown to children
San Diego County has filed a lawsuit against mobile advertising technology firm AppLovin Corp., alleging the company bypassed parental controls to serve inappropriate content to children. According to the complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court, AppLovin served advertisements for adult dating services, alcohol, vaping, and graphic sexual content within games played by minors.
The lawsuit further alleges that AppLovin collected sensitive personal data from children’s devices, even when ad-tracking opt-outs and parental controls were active. The complaint claims the company used fingerprinting techniques to bypass settings from Apple and Google, harvesting information precise enough to determine where children live, study, and sleep to feed its artificial intelligence advertising engine.
This action is part of a broader initiative by San Diego’s newly formed Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit. The unit also filed lawsuits against Roblox Corp. regarding inadequate protections against adults contacting young users, and Polymaker regarding the marketing of materials used for illegal firearms.
Entities
AppLovin Corp. · Google · Polymaker · Roblox Corp. · San Diego County
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] AppLovin bypassed parental controls to serve ads for adult dating, alcohol, vaping, and graphic sexual content to children. www.claimsjournal.com · www.insurancejournal.com · thenextweb.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Collected data included information precise enough to pinpoint where children live, study, and sleep. www.claimsjournal.com · www.insurancejournal.com · thenextweb.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] AppLovin policies prohibit collecting children’s data or serving advertisements to children. www.claimsjournal.com · www.insurancejournal.com · thenextweb.com
- [● 2 SOURCES] San Diego County’s Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit also filed lawsuits against Roblox Corp. and Polymaker. www.claimsjournal.com · www.insurancejournal.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] AppLovin collected sensitive data from children’s devices even when parental controls and ad-tracking opt-outs were enabled. www.claimsjournal.com · www.insurancejournal.com · thenextweb.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] AppLovin allegedly used fingerprinting to bypass digital tracking blocks set by Apple and Google. thenextweb.com