Online advertising on popular children’s websites: Structural features and privacy issues

摘要

This study examined advertisements placed on popular children’s websites. A total of 117 commercial children’s websites, 933 unique ads and 813 advertising websites were included in the sample. Results show that a majority of children’s websites carried advertisements, a third of which were Google ads. Less than half (47%) of the children’s websites and about a quarter (24%) of the advertising websites complied with COPPA when they collected personal information from children. Implications for children’s online safety are discussed.