Marketplace

Gaming the system

A Marketplace investigation has pulled back the curtain on how some mobile games, which seem to attract children, use loopholes in rules protecting kids’ data — allowing marketers to build advertising profiles tailored to them, which can then be more effective at influencing their behaviour.

Watch Marketplace Fridays at 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m. in N.L., on CBC-TV and any time on CBC Gem

A boy, wearing headphones, sitting at a table, playing on a tablet.
A Marketplace investigation exposes how advertisers can use mobile games that attract children to collect information about the players and build advertising profiles. (Turgut Yeter/CBC)

A Marketplace investigation has pulled back the curtain on how some mobile games, which seem to attract children, use loopholes in rules protecting kids' data — allowing marketers to build advertising profiles tailored to them, which can then be more effective at influencing their behaviour.

  • Watch the full Marketplace episode Friday at 8 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland, on CBC-TV and anytime on YouTube or CBC Gem.

On mobile? You can see the full document here.

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