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Child-Directed Content Restrictions

High severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 343 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

The policy requires publishers operating child-directed websites to disable interest-based advertising and remarketing for those sites and to comply with applicable children's privacy laws, including the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

This analysis describes what Google Ads's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This provision establishes an affirmative publisher obligation to identify child-directed content and configure ad serving accordingly, with failure to do so creating both AdSense policy violations and potential regulatory exposure under COPPA and equivalent laws.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Under this clause, publishers who operate sites that attract or are directed at users under 13 must configure their AdSense settings to serve only non-personalized ads on those properties. The agreement requires publishers to self-identify child-directed content and implement the appropriate ad serving configuration.

How other platforms handle this

Revolut Medium

If you do not have a social security number you may still be eligible to open a limited Revolut personal account. Depending on your immigration status, we may ask you to provide us with a copy of your supported U.S. visa and may limit your access to certain products and features.

Redfin Medium

Redfin may offer interactive features such as chat services, forums, and social media pages. We may collect the information you submit or make available through these features. Any content you provide on the public sections of these channels will be considered "public" and will not be subject to the...

Tinder Medium

We process the information you share with us when you create your profile or send messages. This includes photos, videos, messages, and other content you share on the platform. We may use this content to improve our services, ensure safety, and comply with legal obligations.

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Publishers with child-directed sites must not use interest-based advertising or remarketing to serve ads to users. Sites directed at children must comply with applicable children's privacy laws including COPPA.

— Excerpt from Google Ads's Google AdSense Program Policies

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly engages COPPA, which prohibits the collection of personal data from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent; the FTC is the primary COPPA enforcement authority. Equivalent protections apply under GDPR Article 8 for EU children and under the UK Children's Code administered by the ICO. The FTC has issued enforcement actions against platforms that failed to identify and appropriately configure child-directed properties. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High for publishers in the education, entertainment, gaming, or family content sectors. Misclassification of a child-directed property as general audience, resulting in interest-based advertising being served to minors, creates concurrent exposure to FTC enforcement and Google account termination. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU publishers must apply GDPR Article 8 age of consent requirements, which vary by member state between 13 and 16 years. UK publishers are subject to the ICO's Children's Code (Age Appropriate Design Code), which imposes standards beyond basic consent requirements for online services likely to be accessed by minors. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Publishers using third-party content platforms, game engines, or educational tools on child-directed sites should verify that those integrations do not introduce ad serving or data collection mechanisms that conflict with COPPA obligations or this AdSense policy provision. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Publishers should conduct a content audience assessment across their entire site portfolio to identify any properties that qualify as child-directed under COPPA definitions, configure those properties in AdSense using the child-directed setting, and maintain documentation of that determination process.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC is the primary enforcement authority for COPPA, which is directly implicated by the child-directed content advertising restrictions in this provision.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Google AdSense Program Policies
Entity
Google Ads
Document last updated
May 20, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 20, 2026
Last verified
May 20, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-012134
Document ID
CA-D-00860
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
da25a4662bf3f8dbf56dadf9f94daedcdc9258958ac9bd3ced7fb9bb1bab725b
Analysis generated
May 20, 2026 13:01 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Google Ads
Document: Google AdSense Program Policies
Record ID: CA-P-012134
Captured: 2026-05-20 13:01:59 UTC
SHA-256: da25a4662bf3f8db…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/google-ads/google-adsense-program-policies/child-directed-content-restrictions/
Accessed: July 4, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Google Ads's Child-Directed Content Restrictions clause do?

This provision establishes an affirmative publisher obligation to identify child-directed content and configure ad serving accordingly, with failure to do so creating both AdSense policy violations and potential regulatory exposure under COPPA and equivalent laws.

How does this clause affect you?

Under this clause, publishers who operate sites that attract or are directed at users under 13 must configure their AdSense settings to serve only non-personalized ads on those properties. The agreement requires publishers to self-identify child-directed content and implement the appropriate ad serving configuration.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Google Ads?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google Ads.