EU regulators probe Google's secret ad partnership with Meta over minors' privacy concerns

European regulators are intensifying their investigation into a covert advertising collaboration between Google and Meta, raising concerns over the handling of minors' privacy in online campaign.

According to a report by the Financial Times, the regulators have requested further details regarding the secret partnership, which allegedly contravened Google's own guidelines for advertising to children.

The investigation centers on a series of ad campaigns aimed at promoting Instagram, Meta's social media platform, to teenagers.

Sources familiar with the matter suggest that the partnership circumvented Google's internal rules designed to protect younger audiences from targeted ads. These rules are part of broader efforts to ensure that advertising practices remain safe and transparent, especially for vulnerable user groups such as minors.

Both Google and Meta have yet to publicly respond to the investigation.