Social Media Companies Made $11 Billion From Ads Served to Minors in US: Harvard Study

About $2 billion in ad revenue derived from users under the age of 12, according to the recent study.

A girl looking at app on a smartphone in a file photo. Peter Byrne/PA

Social media platforms made nearly $11 billion in ad revenue last year from under-18s in the United States, according to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study published on Dec. 27, 2023.

The researchers found that Snapchat (41 percent) earned the highest share of overall 2022 ad revenue from users aged under 18, followed by TikTok (35 percent), YouTube (27 percent), and Instagram (16 percent).

About $2 billion in ad revenue derived from users under the age of 12, with YouTube earning the most ad profit ($959.1 million), followed by Instagram ($801.1 million), and Facebook ($137.2 million).

The study found that Instagram earned the highest ad profit from users aged 13 to 17 amounting to $4 billion. TikTok generated $2 billion, and YouTube garnered $1.2 billion in ad revenue from this age group.

“Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children,” Bryn Austin, senior author and a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said in a press release.

The researchers used population data from the U.S. Census and survey data from Common Sense Media and Pew Research from 2021 and 2022 to estimate the number of under-18s on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

They then obtained estimations of the projected 2022 gross ad revenue and users’ average daily usage time on each platform from eMarketer, a market research company, and Qustodio, a parental control app. A simulation model was constructed using these estimates to predict the amount of ad revenue generated by the platforms from U.S. minors.

“Our finding that social media platforms generate substantial advertising revenue from youth highlights the need for greater data transparency as well as public health interventions and government regulations,” said Amanda Raffoul, lead author and an instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Children, Adolescents Are Being Exposed to ‘Harmful Content’

Researchers and lawmakers have long focused on the negative effects stemming from social media platforms, whose personally-tailored algorithms can drive children toward excessive use.

Lawmakers in states like New York and Utah have introduced or passed legislation that would curb social media use among kids, citing harms to mental health and other concerns.

A recent Pew Research Center survey showed that nearly half of the 1,453 U.S. teens surveyed—who were between the ages of 13 and 17—used certain social media sites almost constantly.

The survey, published on Dec. 11, also found that over 90 percent of U.S. teens use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform, followed by TikTok (63 percent), Snapchat (60 percent), and Instagram (59 percent).

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy previously issued an advisory saying that children and adolescents are “commonly exposed to extreme, inappropriate, and harmful content” on social media.

Those who spend more than three hours a day on social media “face double the risk of poor mental health including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety,” Mr. Murthy stated.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) building is seen in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, 2006. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images

Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) aimed at restricting the ability of websites to collect, disclose, and monetize children’s personal information.

The proposed changes would require operators to get “separate verifiable parental consent” before disclosing children’s personal data to third parties unless the disclosure is “integral” to the nature of the website.

The FTC also proposed prohibiting operators from using online “persistent identifiers” to boost user engagement with the website, such as through sending push notifications, without getting parental consent.

In addition, operators would be prohibited from utilizing specific COPPA exceptions to send push notifications aimed at encouraging children to increase their usage of the website or online services.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.