AppLovin, a major player in digital advertising, has come under fire for allegedly running sexually explicit and violent advertisements in games designed for children—essentially sidestepping parental controls aimed at protecting them. This serious claim emerged in a lawsuit filed in California on Monday.
The suit, lodged by officials from San Diego County, accuses AppLovin—a company valued at around $100 billion that aids developers in monetizing apps—of directing graphic content depicting sex, violence, and sexual assault into children’s games, which are marketed as safe. The lawsuit features shocking screenshots that reveal ads showcasing scantily-clad cartoon women in compromising positions, alongside promotions for alcohol, vaping products, and cannabis gummies, all appearing in games that carry an “E for everyone” rating on Google Play.
According to the San Diego County officials, “While parents do everything they can to protect their kids playing mobile games from harmful content, AppLovin strips away those digital safeguards and steers obscene advertisements to children anyway.”
Representatives from AppLovin did not respond to requests for comments regarding the accusations.
San Diego County’s lawsuit brings allegations of violations against California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law. The legal team is seeking both injunctive relief and unspecified restitution and civil penalties.
Interestingly, AppLovin’s website states that the company does not “knowingly collect personal information from children or serve advertisements to children.” However, the lawsuit contends that AppLovin has amassed extensive data on kids using a method called “fingerprinting,” which allows the company to target children with alarming precision—enough to potentially determine their home addresses, schools, and even whether they are asleep.
As stated in the lawsuit, “AppLovin has turned child-friendly mobile games into a surveillance platform that tracks children and adults alike, monetizes their personal information, and deploys a deceptive user interface to mislead and coerce users into generating revenue for the company.”
This Silicon Valley-based firm has faced increased scrutiny regarding its data practices, particularly since last year. The allegations brought forth in San Diego’s lawsuit reference findings by short-seller companies such as Fuzzy Panda, Culper Research, and Muddy Waters, all claiming that AppLovin collected data from minors and displayed inappropriate advertisements in games played by them.
Reports from October 2025 indicated that state regulators, including attorneys general from several states, reached out to various short sellers as part of an initial investigation into AppLovin, although the specifics regarding those inquiries remain unclear.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission initiated its own investigation into AppLovin’s advertising tactics. Nevertheless, the company’s CFO announced last August that the SEC inquiry had concluded without any enforcement actions being taken.
AppLovin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In fact, CEO Adam Foroughi published a blog post in February 2025 to counter the claims from short sellers. He expressed disappointment that certain parties were spreading what he labeled as false and misleading information, undermining the company’s success for their financial advantage rather than recognizing the sophisticated AI technologies developed to enhance advertising.
The recent lawsuit coincides with the launch of San Diego County’s new Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit, which has also initiated legal actions against Roblox and Polymarket for similar alleged violations.
As San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer remarked, “People should be able to trust the products they buy, the apps their kids use and the companies they deal with.” She added that families already burdened by high living costs should not have to suffer further due to companies misleading them or jeopardizing their children’s safety.
