Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU)
The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) was established in 1974 to promote responsible advertising to children and help companies comply with laws and guidelines that protect children under age 13 from deceptive or inappropriate advertising.
CARU is also the first Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-approved Safe Harbor under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
CARU is also the first Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-approved Safe Harbor under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Monitoring & Enforcement
CARU monitors all child-directed media to ensure that marketing and data collection and management practices are compliant with CARU’s self-regulatory Advertising and Privacy Guidelines.
BBB National Programs provides summaries of all case decisions in the Case Decision Summary library. For the full text of decisions, subscribe to the Online Archive. Members of the press can request the full text of decision by emailing the request to press@bbbnp.org.
CARU’s Guidance
CARU’s Guidelines
CARU’s Guidelines are widely-recognized industry standards to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience and that children’s online privacy is protected.
CARU monitors child-directed media for compliance with its Guidelines, seeking voluntary cooperation of companies and, where necessary, referral for enforcement action to an appropriate federal regulatory body, usually the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or state Attorneys General.
Compliance Warnings
- August 2022 Compliance Warning: Advertising Practices in the Metaverse – CARU issued a compliance warning regarding the application of CARU’s Advertising Guidelines to advertising practices directed to children in the metaverse.
- May 2024 Compliance Warning: AI in Child-Directed Advertising and Data Collection – CARU issued a compliance warning on the application of CARU’s Guidelines to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Metaverse & AI Guardrails
The Guardrails for Child-Directed Advertising and Privacy in the Metaverse are a set of realistic, actionable recommendations and best practices intended to help companies:
CARU's AI Working Group is exploring the development of guidance for brands and companies thinking about the use of generative AI in their advertising directed to children.
- Develop metaverse experiences directed to children,
- Comply with existing advertising and privacy law, and
- Engage responsibly with children online.
CARU's AI Working Group is exploring the development of guidance for brands and companies thinking about the use of generative AI in their advertising directed to children.
- Working Group members are global industry professionals representing toy, gaming, network, food, streaming, adtech, and mobile brands popular with children
- This Working Group is only open to CARU Supporters
- All meetings are virtual
CARU Supporters
Challenges & Complaints
CARU handles complaints involving national advertising in all media directed to children under age 13, as well as internet and mobile advertising and online privacy concerns.
50 Years of CARU
CARU has been advancing responsible child-directed marketing and privacy practices for 50 years.
CARU’s Services
COPPA Safe Harbor Program
No matter the size of your business, making data privacy a priority is a key component of maintaining the trust of your customers. And when customers are faced with the question of who to trust in a dynamic child-directed marketplace, only a COPPA Safe Harbor seal can ensure that your products comply with the stringent requirements of the COPPA Rule.
Pre-Screening Services
From concept to final cut, CARU offers pre-screening services to help businesses and agencies spot and correct advertising and privacy issues before ads, contests, and promotional websites go live.
Media & Resources
Contact the CARU Team
Fill out the form below to connect with our team and learn how you can increase transparency and trust in the advertising industry.