MrBeast’s data collection practices under fire

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), a division of BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that oversees industry self-regulation programs in the US, has reason to believe that MrBeast obtained children’s data without parental consent.

With over 435 million subscribers, MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, is without a doubt one of YouTube’s most popular influencers and content creators.

His audience includes both adults and children. Collecting data, especially personal information of younger viewers, is restricted by strict privacy legislation, including the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA).

According to CARU, MrBeast violated CARU’s Advertising Guidelines by adding video descriptions and pinning comments that contained advertising content that was not clearly labeled as advertising.

In addition, when MrBeast launched his Feastables chocolate bars in 2022, he made several mistakes during the sweepstakes. For starters, the free method of entry was not adequately disclosed, as a child could have thought that they had to buy as many as 10 chocolate bars every day and scan the QR code to maximize their chances of winning.

Furthermore, the official rules stated that participants must be at least 13 years old with parental permission, and entrants under 13 are not allowed. The sweepstakes didn’t include an age gate to ensure that participants were at least 13 years old.

Lastly, the Feastables advertisements contained a countdown timer, which constituted sales pressure.

CARU also noticed several privacy issues surrounding the Feastables campaign. The Feastables website had a reasonable expectation that children under 13 would visit the website.

Nevertheless, the site failed to provide a neutral age-screening mechanism to ensure it did not collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 without first obtaining parental consent.

Additionally, participants of the Feastables sweepstakes were asked to provide their names, email addresses, and phone numbers. This information was then sent to non-affiliate third parties. These practices don’t comply with CARU’s Advertising Guidelines.

MrBeast has worked with the industry watchdog to update his channel’s data collection practices and has fixed the issue.

In a statement, MrBeast said he “appreciates CARU’s mission to promote responsible children’s advertising,” but also that it didn’t agree with all of CARU’s conclusions.

“Notwithstanding, MrBeast and Feastables certainly will take CARU’s concerns under advisement as it develops future advertisements which appear in children’s media,” MrBeast concluded.