MrBeast chocolate ads were misleading, US children’s watchdog group says
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Some of US YouTuber MrBeast's practices could have run afoul of a US law intended to protect children’s online privacy.
PHOTO: AFP
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A US advertising watchdog group said MrBeast, the most popular channel on YouTube, marketed chocolate bars in ways that potentially misled child viewers.
The Children’s Advertising Review Unit, or Caru, part of a non-profit organisation for industry self-regulation, said on Sept 18 that the MrBeast team had cooperated in implementing its recommendations after a review concluded that some practices did not comply with marketing industry guidelines.
Some of MrBeast’s practices could have run afoul of a US law intended to protect children’s online privacy, the review unit said.
MrBeast and its affiliated chocolate bar company, Feastables, said in a statement that issues raised by the group relate to “practices long since revised and/or discontinued”.
The statement also said it does not agree with all of Caru’s conclusions but said it would keep its concerns in mind as it develops future advertisements.
The MrBeast YouTube channel has around 437 million subscribers and is hosted by 27-year-old entertainer James Donaldson.
Caru said MrBeast’s audience includes children as well as adults, and alleged several YouTube videos did not adequately disclose that it contained advertisements, such as a purported “blind taste test” of the chocolates that showed tasters preferring MrBeast’s chocolate bars. The video has since been taken down.
Public health experts say younger children do not understand that marketing is a biased source of information.
“Kids see marketing as another source of information, like parents or teachers,” said Dr Jennifer Harris, a research adviser at the University of Connecticut who studies food marketing to children.
Caru also said sweepstakes previously hosted on the channel did not adequately filter out children under 13, and so could have collected their personal information in ways prohibited by the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
It said another sweepstakes program was marketed in ways that did not comply with industry guidelines, and could have encouraged a child to “purchase as many as 10 chocolate bars every day” to maximise their chance of winning. REUTERS
