Meta under fire: Teen targeting, Chinese advertisers, and an antitrust trial

The news: Meta’s ad model and market position are under renewed scrutiny on a number of fronts after a whistleblower made claims about its ad targeting tactics days before a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) trial on anticompetitive behavior is set to begin.

• Former Meta policy executive Sarah Wynn-Williams testified that the company flagged teens for ad targeting based on emotional cues, such as deleting selfies or expressing low self-confidence. Advertisers allegedly used these insights to promote weight-loss and beauty products to users aged 13–17.
• Wynn-Williams also claimed that internal conversations highlighted teens as a high-value demographic at the same time that Meta executives reportedly restricted their own children from using the company’s platforms.