Tulipshare has submitted a proposal for inclusion in Alphabet’s 2025 proxy statement which requests public disclosure of tangible, comprehensive information regarding Alphabet’s efforts to a) improve the risks posed by its advertising practices and b) prevent data collection of children across its platforms, with a specific focus on improving: data collection, consent mechanisms, data usage for ad targeting, user privacy, cross-platform data integration, and Alphabet’s process in determining what content is permitted for child consumption.
Alphabet’s platforms—especially YouTube and YouTube Kids—dominate children’s online engagement, yet its advertising and data collection practices remain alarmingly opaque.
81% of children aged 2 to 12 report watching YouTube regularly, spending an average of 1 hour and 48 minutes per day on the platform, making it the most popular video service among kids (surpassing TikTok).
53% of children aged 2 to 12 report seeing ads on YouTube—far outpacing other platforms like TikTok and television—with 16% of children in the same age group asking their parents to purchase products after seeing YouTube commercials.
Since 2020, kids under the age of six spend more time watching videos on YouTube than watching television.
Researchers have found YouTube videos often miss some of the key characteristics that help children learn while they watch as compared to television, and the content and quality of media shown on YouTube are heavily influenced by the likelihood that the algorithm will recommend a video.
Alphabet/Google was fined $170 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for illegally collecting personal information from children without parental consent on YouTube.
This was the largest civil penalty ever obtained by the FTC in a children's privacy case, dwarfing the previous record fine of $5.7 million.
Despite these findings and penalties, Alphabet has not provided clear, comprehensive disclosure on how it safeguards young users from invasive tracking, inappropriate ad targeting, and algorithm-driven content manipulation. This is why Tulipshare has submitted a shareholder proposal requesting that Alphabet publish a publicly available report detailing:
✅ A Breakdown of Data Collection, Sharing, & Retention: A full account of how Alphabet gathers, stores, and shares children's data across its platforms—particularly its compliance with privacy laws such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). *COPPA 2.0 aims to expand the age range covered by the original law (COPPA, 1998) to include teenagers, providing stricter privacy protections for the online collection, use, disclosure, and deletion of personal information of children and teens.
✅ Stronger User Consent Mechanisms: A clear outline of how Alphabet obtains user consent for data collection, whether and how children and parents are properly informed about data use, and whether they can meaningfully opt out of tracking.
✅ Data Usage for Ad Targeting: Greater transparency on how Alphabet prevents the collection of children’s data for ad targeting and the safeguards it has in place for protecting young audiences from manipulative advertising.
✅ Cross-Platform Data Integration: A detailed explanation of whether and how Alphabet 1) prevents the use of cookies to target ads and potentially harmful content and/or 2) tracks children across its platforms, including Google Chrome, YouTube, YouTube Kids, and third-party websites.
✅ Content Moderation & Ad Approval for Kids: A comprehensive explanation on how Alphabet's platforms, including YouTube and YouTube Kids, determine what qualifies as "family-friendly" content (including paid ads) as well as the qualifications of the content moderators, and how Alphabet ensures harmful ads and videos do not reach children. **This is especially important given that research has shown that YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes engagement over educational value, often recommending content that lacks key developmental learning elements for children.
So, how do these issues impact investors?
Until Alphabet improves transparency surrounding its advertising and data collection practices, the company will continue to face regulatory and legal risks as well as damage to its reputation and consumer trust. In addition to record-breaking fines for violating children's privacy laws, Alphabet faces further legal exposure under new regulations such as COPPA 2.0 and KOSA as well as the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA). Parents, educators, and advocacy groups continue to scrutinize and file complaints against Alphabet for YouTube and Youtube Kids exposing children to inappropriate and/or harmful content and advertisements. Investors have the ability to push for responsible and transparent data practices that mitigate legal risks, protect consumer trust, and ensure regulatory compliance—all of which are critical for Alphabet’s long-term profitability.
RECORD DATE
Based on last year's record date, the cutoff to be eligible to vote GOOGL's 2025 proxy will likely be ~ April 9th, 2025. Meaning you would need to own GOOGL share(s) by that date to vote for shareholder proposals.
Voting at the AGM
Stay on the lookout for GOOGL's 2025 proxy statement in order to use your voting rights as a shareholder to support the proposals seeking to improve GOOGL's impact on ESG.
What is shareholder activism?
Shareholder activism is when shareholders use their influence as owners of a company to effectuate change within the organisation.
What is Tulipshare?
Tulipshare is a sustainable investment fund and shareholder advocacy group on a mission to help investors push for stronger environmental and social commitments, using corporate governance to create a positive impact and ensure the companies we invest our money in are being responsibly managed by accountable leadership.
How does Tulipshare improve sustainability through investing?
Tulipshare addresses issues pertaining to climate change, human rights, racial and gender equity, political spending and operational transparency within some of America’s biggest publicly traded companies - issues that if left unaddressed could expose a company and its investors to significant legal, reputational and financial risks.
