How do you promote products to digital-native teens without breaking the law or their trust? And what happens when platform algorithms blur the line between adult and youth audiences?
In 2025, kids’ advertising is being rewritten in real time. YouTube has banned personalized ads on “Made for Kids” videos, TikTok restricts interest-based targeting for under-18s, and the UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code has become a global benchmark for youth privacy.
At the same time, Australia is moving toward a full under-16 social media ban, signaling where policy is headed next.
For marketers, these shifts mark the end of “light-touch” compliance. Understanding what’s allowed—and what isn’t—now defines brand safety as much as creative quality.
This playbook breaks down the creative, legal, and platform rules shaping under-18 campaigns in 2025, so your brand can reach young audiences responsibly—and confidently.
How Platforms Are Restricting Ads to Under-18 Audiences
When it comes to advertising to under-18s, major social platforms impose strict rules on who you can target, what data you can use, and what kinds of ad formats are allowed. Marketers must adapt accordingly.
What YouTube Kids Requires
On YouTube Kids (and videos marked “Made-for-Kids” on the main YouTube app), targeted or interest-based advertising is prohibited. Google’s Help Centre states that “interest-based advertising” and “remarketing or other tracking pixels” cannot be used in the YouTube Kids app.
Therefore, ads must be in-stream video format, hosted on YouTube (no third-party ad servers), and linking out (via CTAs, overlays) is disabled.
Example: If you run a toy brand campaign on YouTube Kids, you cannot rely on user behavioural segments (e.g., “kids interested in gaming”) or retarget past viewers; you must rely on a general video placement and contextual targeting within compliant video inventory.
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Key Rules on TikTok for Under-18 Audiences
TikTok’s policies for under-18s now limit advertiser targeting and creative practices when minors are included. According to TikTok:
“Some targeting and campaign options are not available when you create ad campaigns, including audiences under the age of 18 in certain locations.”
Their “Teen Safety and Wellbeing” document explicitly states: “Ads and landing pages must not feature minors … in content that may put them at risk of sexual, physical, or emotional harm.”
@tiktokadpolicy Youth Safety - TikTok Ad Policy
Furthermore, TikTok has implemented restrictions on ads targeted at teens and introduced stricter disclosure and data controls.
Case in point: If you are inviting a TikTok creator to promote a product to 16-17 year-olds, you cannot use interest-based segments for those ages, you cannot use overly aspirational cues that exploit teen anxieties, and you must adhere to TikTok’s age-appropriate creative rules.
What These Platform Rules Mean for Your Targeting Strategy
- Exclude or carefully manage minors: If your campaign will reach under-18s, you must disable certain targeting features (interest, remarketing) and default to broader age targets.
- Avoid personalisation: Platforms forbid targeting kids based on behavioural data; instead, you should rely on contextual placement (e.g., kid-friendly channels) and non-personalised ad formats.
- Creative formats must align: On YouTube Kids, CTAs and clickable overlays are disabled; on TikTok, creatives must not show minors in risky scenarios or exploit vulnerability.
- Audit placements: Even if you target 18+ only, you must monitor actual reach because, in practice, placement-based targeting (on YouTube) can still intersect with kid-focused inventory. For instance, a recent academic paper shows that ~7% of ads in children-focused videos used placement-based targeting on YouTube.
In short, the rules are tightening across platforms — targeting gets more restricted, creatives must become more child-aware, and the risk of non-compliance (both regulatory and reputational) is higher in 2025.
What the UK’s “Age-Appropriate Design Code” Means for Advertisers
The way digital platforms treat children’s data has become a defining issue in ad compliance. The UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC), enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), reshaped how brands and tech platforms design and deliver online experiences for users under 18.
Its ripple effects now extend well beyond the UK, influencing policies from California to Brussels.
The Core Principles of the AADC
The AADC is a legally binding code that applies to any online service likely to be accessed by children, even if it isn’t explicitly marketed to them. It establishes 15 design standards that prioritise child welfare over data-driven optimisation.
Key rules include:
- Act in the child’s best interests. Commercial gain can’t override safety or wellbeing.
- Set privacy to “high” by default. Personal data collection, tracking, and geolocation must be switched off unless the child actively enables them.
- Limit profiling and data retention. Only data essential for a service’s core function should be processed, and profiling for personalised ads is discouraged.
- Use language kids can understand. Explanations of data use must match the user’s reading age.
For advertisers, this means that any ad tech, creative content, or data-driven targeting tied to a service minors might use must respect these same principles. “Made-for-Kids” environments, like YouTube Kids, already operate within these limits.
Real-World Impact on Advertising
The AADC has already changed how global platforms handle youth audiences. YouTube automatically disables personalised ads on content flagged as “made for kids,” and TikTok prohibits interest-based targeting for users under 18. Both actions reflect the Code’s central premise: data protection by design.
Brands ignoring these standards face both regulatory and reputational risks.
In 2024, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) put several major social and video-sharing platforms on notice after finding they were using “nudge techniques” that encouraged children to share geolocation data or weaken their privacy settings — a direct breach of the AADC’s requirement for high-privacy defaults.
The ICO’s review concluded that while many platforms had improved default privacy for minors, others still designed interfaces that subtly prompted kids to opt into tracking or make their profiles public.
This case illustrates how creative design decisions—not just ad targeting—can trigger regulatory scrutiny. For advertisers, it underscores the need to audit not only the ad creative but also the UX environments in which campaigns run, ensuring they don’t inadvertently steer under-18 users toward lower privacy or engagement-driven data sharing.
How the UK Code Is Shaping Global Policy
The UK model has become a blueprint worldwide. California passed its own Age-Appropriate Design Code Act in 2022, drawing from the UK’s 15 principles. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) includes similar child-protection clauses, while Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has proposed aligning local standards with the AADC.
Even industry bodies like IEEE have formalised international standards, publishing IEEE 2089-2021 to codify age-appropriate digital design.
Takeaways for Marketers
- Default to “child-first” design. Assume minors may access your campaign and plan accordingly.
- Eliminate manipulative UX. Dark patterns, urgency cues, or “unlock-with-data” CTAs are non-compliant.
- Audit partner platforms. Verify that ad placements respect high-privacy defaults and disable profiling.
- Adopt the UK bar globally. Even in markets without legal equivalents, aligning with the AADC positions your brand for upcoming regulation.
How Kids-Ad Rules Differ Around the World
Advertising to children and teens isn’t governed by a single global rulebook — it’s a patchwork of national laws, platform policies, and cultural expectations. For marketers, understanding where stricter rules apply can prevent compliance issues and campaign takedowns before they happen.
United States: COPPA and Platform Enforcement
In the U.S., the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) sets the baseline. It applies to online services collecting data from children under 13 and requires verified parental consent before any form of personalisation or data tracking.
Platforms extend these protections beyond the legal minimum. YouTube disables personalised ads on “made-for-kids” content, while Meta limits targeting for under-18 users to age and location only. When YouTube and Google settled with the FTC for $170 million in 2019 over COPPA violations, it reshaped how creators and advertisers label content for minors.
United Kingdom and European Union: AADC, DSA, and GDPR-K
In the UK, the Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) sets detailed expectations for data privacy, default settings, and ad transparency for anyone under 18. The EU has similar provisions through the Digital Services Act (DSA) and GDPR-K, which ban targeted advertising based on minors’ personal data.
TikTok and Meta have both had to adjust their European operations accordingly. TikTok stopped serving personalised ads to teens across the EEA in August 2023 following regulatory pressure from Ireland’s Data Protection Commission.
Australia: Toward a U16 Social Media Ban
Australia is moving toward even tighter controls. The federal government has endorsed the Age-Appropriate Design Code Bill 2025, which draws from the UK’s standards and could restrict under-16 access to social media altogether. The eSafety Commissioner has already backed platform-level age verification pilots to enforce these limits.
For marketers, this signals a future where advertising to minors may be effectively banned in certain jurisdictions.
Asia-Pacific: Regional Patchwork
Regulation varies widely. Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) recognises minors as “special-care” users, requiring parental consent for profiling. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission restricts behavioural targeting under 14. Meanwhile, Singapore’s PDPA includes child-data clauses but stops short of full ad bans.
Building a Global Compliance Routine
For multinational brands, a quarterly policy review is essential. Regulatory updates in one region often trigger copycat measures elsewhere within six to 12 months.
A practical checklist:
- Audit all under-18 targeting quarterly in the U.S., U.K., and EU.
- Review Asia-Pacific markets semi-annually as standards evolve.
- Centralise consent management and platform compliance logs.
By tracking regional differences proactively, brands can protect both their ad performance and their reputation — before the next round of child-safety reforms lands.
What’s Okay (and Not Okay) in Ads Aimed at Kids and Teens
Even when campaigns meet targeting rules, the creative itself can still cause problems. Regulators, parents, and platforms all scrutinize how products are presented to minors, from tone and language to implied pressure and emotional cues.
Below are clear creative dos and don’ts drawn from YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and the UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code principles.
What Works: Positive, Transparent, and Educational
- Keep messages clear and age-appropriate.
Language must match the audience’s comprehension level. TikTok’s ad policies require “plain language that minors can easily understand” and ban overly complex or persuasive phrasing.
- Highlight learning or creativity.
Brands that integrate education, imagination, or skill-building themes see better approval rates. LEGO’s “Build the Change” campaign, which asked children to design environmental solutions, met AADC standards by promoting creativity without commercial manipulation.
- Make disclosures obvious.
Sponsored content must be clear and audible. On YouTube Kids and TikTok, brand partnerships require on-screen or spoken “ad” cues at the beginning of the video, not buried in captions.
What Crosses the Line: Manipulation and Pressure
- Avoid social comparison and “fear of missing out.”
Under the AADC, designs that “nudge” kids to keep scrolling, spending, or sharing are flagged as manipulative. The ICO’s 2024 notice to social platforms warned that prompting minors to lower privacy or join challenges for rewards can breach the Code.
- Don’t imply financial independence or urgency.
Terms like “buy now,” “limited time,” or “collect them all” are banned in YouTube Kids ads. The same holds for TikTok’s youth ad policy, which prohibits any “calls to immediate purchase.”
- Avoid influencer misrepresentation.
Creators with large under-18 audiences must label branded content and cannot pose as peers giving unpaid opinions. TikTok’s Creator Marketplace requires brands to confirm that paid promotions are tagged and reviewed for authenticity.
- Stay away from unhealthy body or diet cues.
Regulators have cracked down on youth ads promoting unrealistic body ideals. TikTok bans weight-loss supplement/fasting-app ads and blocks all weight-management product ads from reaching under-18s; the ongoing policy page also specifies 18+ only for weight-loss claims.
How to Keep Creative Safe and Effective
- Design ads that empower, not pressure.
- Use disclosure labels clearly and early.
- Review scripts and thumbnails for implied scarcity or comparison.
- Align visuals with the “age-appropriate design code” spirit — safe, inclusive, and honest.
By treating creative compliance as part of brand trust, marketers can reach young audiences responsibly — and avoid the reputational damage of getting it wrong.
How Brands Can Stay Compliant When Advertising to Under-18s
Running youth-safe campaigns today means proving compliance at every step — from targeting setup to creative sign-off. A few structured checks can keep your brand clear of AADC, COPPA, and DSA violations.
Start with Audience Controls
Confirm whether minors are likely to see your ads and activate each platform’s built-in safeguards.
- YouTube: “Made for Kids” content automatically removes personalised ads and disables comments.
- TikTok: Ads targeting under-18s block remarketing and limit targeting options.
- Meta: Targeting minors is restricted to age and location only.
This pre-screen ensures your campaign architecture doesn’t rely on behavioural data or profiling, both prohibited for minors across major platforms.
Centralize Creative & Legal Reviews
Develop one approval path where marketing, legal, and brand-safety teams evaluate content before upload. Reviews should verify:
- Disclosures and tone align with age-appropriate standards.
- Visuals don’t depict minors in risky or suggestive settings.
- The ad is correctly categorised (e.g., “Made for Kids,” “18+ only”).
Brands like LEGO have formalised these checks, keeping internal logs that demonstrate compliance during regulatory audits.
Keep Monitoring After Launch
Use platform transparency tools such as Meta’s Ad Library and TikTok’s Commercial Content Library to confirm delivery matches intended age groups. Schedule quarterly spot checks to catch any algorithmic drift into under-18 impressions, especially for creator content.
Why It Matters
Regulators increasingly view youth ad compliance as a continuous process, not a one-time setup. Maintaining clear documentation — audiences approved, creatives cleared, and audits logged — not only prevents enforcement risk but also builds long-term credibility with parents, educators, and partners.
Why Safer Ads Build Stronger Brands
Protecting young audiences isn’t just about avoiding fines — it’s about earning long-term trust. As laws like COPPA, the AADC, and the DSA tighten, the smartest brands are shifting from compliance-as-defense to safety-as-strategy.
Platforms are already moving in this direction: YouTube blocks personalized ads on kids’ content, TikTok limits targeting for under-18s, and Meta enforces privacy-first defaults.
Marketers who treat kids’ ads rules and age-appropriate design as part of their brand identity — not legal fine print — will be the ones regulators trust and parents welcome. The future of youth marketing belongs to brands that can combine responsibility, transparency, and imagination in equal measure.
In 2025 and beyond, the message is simple: the safest campaigns are also the most sustainable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are social platforms changing teen privacy controls in 2025?
Meta has introduced stricter teen account protections that automatically default young users to private profiles, limit messaging from adults, and restrict ad targeting to age and location only. These updates align with the global push toward “high-privacy defaults” under the UK’s Age-Appropriate Design Code.
What can brands learn from campaigns created by kids themselves?
Brands like Kinder have embraced authentic storytelling through kid-led campaigns that highlight imagination and creativity instead of product placement, proving that responsible youth marketing can still drive engagement without manipulative tactics.
How can children’s brands use influencer marketing responsibly?
When working with minors or family creators, it’s essential to follow the same disclosure and consent standards used in broader influencer marketing strategies for baby and kids products, ensuring that sponsorship transparency and parental oversight remain central.
Which social platforms work best for kids’ product promotions today?
Brands in the toy, apparel, and learning categories are finding success on YouTube and TikTok through baby and kids product social media campaigns that blend playful storytelling with strict compliance to each platform’s under-18 ad policies.
What special considerations apply when partnering with kid influencers?
Creators under 18 face additional oversight, especially regarding parental management and content labeling. Working with established kid influencers who follow child labor and disclosure laws helps brands maintain trust and regulatory compliance.
How can family-focused brands balance storytelling and compliance?
Successful marketers focus on the parent–child dynamic, crafting stories that respect privacy while educating and entertaining. Campaigns built around baby product affiliate programs can achieve this by tying performance marketing to parental audiences rather than directly targeting children.
Why is youth safety becoming a brand differentiator?
As more marketers adopt stronger privacy, disclosure, and targeting standards, brands that integrate kid influencer governance frameworks into their marketing stand out as both ethical and forward-thinking—turning compliance into a competitive edge.
