Big Tech partners with kids' brands
By: Courtney Rozen
Reuters
WASHINGTON - Meta and Google enlisted trusted children's brands such as Sesame Street, Girl Scouts and Highlights magazine to teach kids to use technology in moderation - even the companies designed apps hat made it difficult for those same young users to unplug, public statements and internal documents show.
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Backed by tens of millions of dollars for the tech giants, these organizations delivered lessons about personal responsibility to hundreds of thousands of children and parents, using colorful magazines, popular characters and catchy songs, according to public statements.
..... Alphabet's Google and Meta's sponsorships of those lessons are fueling criticism that the companies are finding new ways to encourage kids to become dependent on social media, particularly by partnering with brands aimed at children young than 12, an pediatricians say is often too young for smartphone ownership.
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The partnerships also weaken trust in institutions families have relied on for advice on raising kids, parent advocates said, at a time when the tech giants are facing down multiple lawsuits accusing them of designing addictive products that harmed youth mental health. The first case to reach trial ended with a $6 million judgment against the two companies.
..... "it's like 'Sesame Street teaming up with Philip Morris to teach kids to smoke cigarettes safely," said Rose Bronstein, whose 15-eyar-old son died by suicide after he was bullied Online. "How is it any different?"
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Meta and Google's properties generate billions of dollars in ad revenue from businesses marketing to minors. that economic incentive, critics say, makes it difficult for the companies to offer unbiased guidance on screen use.
....."Their very business model relies on maximum time on device," said Emily Boddy, co-lead of U.S. Smartphone Free Childhood, a parent group that advocates against phones in schools. "their guidance or advice can't be neutral, and we see that it's not."
Reputation management
..... Corporations, ranging from soda companies to the tobacco industry, have long made donations to "trusted institutions" to improve their reputations, said Nora Kenworthy, a public health researcher at the University of Washington Bothell.
..... "It's very much a reputation management strategy," Kenworthy said.
..... Reuters reviewed thousands of pages of company documents made public through lawsuits, along wit company-sponsored educational videos and lessons. The documents reveal that Meta's strategy to partner with outside groups to promote postie messages about technology began several years ago. In 2018 draft document, internal suer experience researchers deliberated how to respond to accusations that social media companies were "designing addictive products that can harm well-being."
..... Researches proposed asking external experts to identify Facebook features that could have a negative effect on users over time. Among their lists of ideas, they wrote: "from an alliance where the third party can vouch for the thoroughness and relevance of our approach for targeting the 'addictions' claims."
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In a statement to Reuters, Meta said it did not act on that idea.
..... The companies did establish relationships with numerous brands. Google sponsored Sesame Street, Highlights and Girl Scouts. Meta also sponsored girl Scouts. Some of the materials promoted by Meta and Google do include digital safety instructions, children's media researches said.
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The companies declined to say what they paid these organizations. But in a 2024 statement, Google pledged to spend at least $20 million supporting groups that promote "digital well-being," including Highlights magazine and Sesame Workshops.
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"We prioritize the well-being of our youngest uses by building industry-leading safeguards and putting families in charge of their digital experiences - any suggestion otherwise is simply wrong," a Google spokespersons told Reuters.
..... Sesame Workshop said Google had no control over its digital well-being educational materials, adding in a statement that Google executive gave advice "prior to the start of content development." child development researchers, parents and caregivers weighed in on the materials themselves. Sesame Workshop said.
..... Meta said in a statement it had a limited role in designing the Girl Scout materials, but said it was proud of tis work with experts in Online safety. The company often works with academics to study negative use of the platform, a spokespeople said.
..... Highlights declined to answer specific questions about its Google partnership. Spokesperson Melanie Bav said the magazine designs products to help kids "make thoughtful choirs."
..... The Girl Scouts digital safety curriculum, sponsored by Meta's Instagram, requires that girls complete age-specific lessons to earn a "digital leadership" badge. One part of the curriculum aimed at middle-school-age scouts instructs girls to track their screen time. girls are then challenged to "cerate digital content to support a topic" they care about.
..... Last year, [2025] google began sponsoring its own Girl Scots patch, called the "Be Internet Awesome fun Patch," tied to the company's dial literacy curriculum. Girls learn about being kind Online, suing strong password and keeping personal info private. The patch, available on the Girl Scout's website, features its logo, as well as Google's
..... "It's almost priming them to desire to get on social media once they reach the minimum age," said Brendesha Tynes, a children's media researcher at the University of Southern California.
..... Girl Scouts did not respond to multiple request for comment.