AppLovin sued over allegedly serving adult ads in children’s games
San Diego County has filed a lawsuit against AppLovin, a mobile advertising technology company, alleging that the firm served inappropriate ads to children in mobile games despite parental controls being enabled. According to the complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court, AppLovin marketed dating services, alcohol, vaping products, and sexual content to young players without parental consent.
The suit claims AppLovin circumvented privacy protections offered by Apple and Google that allow parents to limit ad targeting. More troublingly, the county alleges that AppLovin collected detailed personal information from children’s devices even when parents had opted out of data tracking, including geolocation data, school information, and sleep patterns.
Evidence presented in the filing includes screenshots showing sexualized AI chatbot advertisements displayed in games, including on an Android device configured for a six-year-old user. This case highlights ongoing concerns about how mobile adtech companies target children and exploit data collection gaps in mobile platforms.