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Unlike the better parents in this thread, I sometimes let my toddler play an Android game. I can tell you with certainty that every ad in a toddler game is clic

Unlike the better parents in this thread, I sometimes let my toddler play an Android game. I can tell you with certainty that every ad in a toddler game is click fraud. He never wants to click the ad. He wants to play the game, but hits the wrong button. In my book, the fact that Google allows clickable ads in toddler games makes them complicit in ad fraud. And hey, why wouldn't they? It's not like it's "real fraud" right? Right? (I'm not entirely kidding, I don't understand why other forms of fraud are punishable with prison time but ad fraud is totally a-ok)

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
Heh, reminds me of an alarm clock app I had in the very early days of Android where the "snooze" button and the ad would periodically swap places, meaning that in my half asleep state I'd be hitting the ad half the time. I'm not surprised that this kind of behaviour is still allowed, I'm sure it's highly lucrative. Also very hard to police.
- LeifCarrotson 8y ago
  It's temporarily lucrative for the app developer and probably for the app platform as well. They're selling the ad space per impression, so more impressions equals more money...until the people buying it figure out their ads are ineffective. It makes me wonder how someone in the advertising department for these companies hasn't seen their 3-year-old trapped in a cycle clicking on Momma's ad and burning through budget causing some reevaluation of priorities. Where is all this dumb advertising money coming from?
logicchains 8y ago
>(I'm not entirely kidding, I don't understand why other forms of fraud are punishable with prison time but ad fraud is totally a-ok). It's very simple: no actual fraud in a legal sense has been committed. The person clicking the ad certainly hasn't signed any contract with the ad publisher, so how could they possibly be committing fraud by clicking the ad? The creator of the application showing the ads does not sign a contract guaranteeing to the advertiser that every click is legitimate (how could they possibly enforce, or even measure that), so it's not fraud on their part either.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- TheCoelacanth 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure toddlers don't have the capacity to commit fraud because no reasonable person would rely on a toddler's representation of material facts to make a decision that could result in injury to themselves.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    I think the alleged fraud is on the part of the ad vendor that placed the hard-to-click, tap three times while it makes a synchronous network request, 25% opacity, 10x10px close/skip button on the ad in a game targeted to toddlers, not the toddler.
- andrewla 8y ago
  Actually, usually the creator of the application showing the ads does in fact sign a contract with the ad publisher. They get money in exchange for clicks; if they are obtaining those clicks through subterfuge or dark patterns, they stand at a minimum to not receive their ad revenue, and if it is egregious and done with intent, then there's no reason that it wouldn't be considered fraud. Measuring and enforcing click fraud is probably the single biggest technical challenge involved in being an ad publisher. EDIT: For example, Google AdMob: https://support.google.com/admob/answer/48182 https://support.google.com/admob/answer/48182
- skrebbel 8y ago
  If I buy an ad, I expect it to be clicked consciously. Even if that's not explicit, which I think it ought to be, there's an implied contract there that if by pay per click, those clicks are made by people who choose to do so. There's no difference between having scripts, robots, or toddlers generate fake clicks.
DanBC 8y ago
> In my book, the fact that Google allows clickable ads in toddler games In the UK you can report many of those ads to the regulator who can take action.
watwut 8y ago
Have a look at lego games. They are age appropriate and have no ads and really good (plenty of them free). Also, I recommend common sense medit site to learn about which games are good or bad.
- skrebbel 8y ago
  Agree,the Lego games are (mostly) great. Thanks for the tip! Didn't know about common sense media and it's exactly what I was looking for!

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

Heh, reminds me of an alarm clock app I had in the very early days of Android where the "snooze" button and the ad would periodically swap places, meaning that in my half asleep state I'd be hitting the ad half the time. I'm not surprised that this kind of behaviour is still allowed, I'm sure it's highly lucrative. Also very hard to police.

LeifCarrotson 8y ago
It's temporarily lucrative for the app developer and probably for the app platform as well. They're selling the ad space per impression, so more impressions equals more money...until the people buying it figure out their ads are ineffective. It makes me wonder how someone in the advertising department for these companies hasn't seen their 3-year-old trapped in a cycle clicking on Momma's ad and burning through budget causing some reevaluation of priorities. Where is all this dumb advertising money coming from?

logicchains 8y ago

>(I'm not entirely kidding, I don't understand why other forms of fraud are punishable with prison time but ad fraud is totally a-ok). It's very simple: no actual fraud in a legal sense has been committed. The person clicking the ad certainly hasn't signed any contract with the ad publisher, so how could they possibly be committing fraud by clicking the ad? The creator of the application showing the ads does not sign a contract guaranteeing to the advertiser that every click is legitimate (how could they possibly enforce, or even measure that), so it's not fraud on their part either.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
TheCoelacanth 8y ago
I'm pretty sure toddlers don't have the capacity to commit fraud because no reasonable person would rely on a toddler's representation of material facts to make a decision that could result in injury to themselves.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  I think the alleged fraud is on the part of the ad vendor that placed the hard-to-click, tap three times while it makes a synchronous network request, 25% opacity, 10x10px close/skip button on the ad in a game targeted to toddlers, not the toddler.
andrewla 8y ago
Actually, usually the creator of the application showing the ads does in fact sign a contract with the ad publisher. They get money in exchange for clicks; if they are obtaining those clicks through subterfuge or dark patterns, they stand at a minimum to not receive their ad revenue, and if it is egregious and done with intent, then there's no reason that it wouldn't be considered fraud. Measuring and enforcing click fraud is probably the single biggest technical challenge involved in being an ad publisher. EDIT: For example, Google AdMob: https://support.google.com/admob/answer/48182 https://support.google.com/admob/answer/48182
skrebbel 8y ago
If I buy an ad, I expect it to be clicked consciously. Even if that's not explicit, which I think it ought to be, there's an implied contract there that if by pay per click, those clicks are made by people who choose to do so. There's no difference between having scripts, robots, or toddlers generate fake clicks.

DanBC 8y ago

> In my book, the fact that Google allows clickable ads in toddler games In the UK you can report many of those ads to the regulator who can take action.

watwut 8y ago

Have a look at lego games. They are age appropriate and have no ads and really good (plenty of them free). Also, I recommend common sense medit site to learn about which games are good or bad.

skrebbel 8y ago
Agree,the Lego games are (mostly) great. Thanks for the tip! Didn't know about common sense media and it's exactly what I was looking for!