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Internal documents revealed as part of a child safety lawsuit hint at Google\u2019s plan to \u201conboard kids\u201d into its ecosystem by investing in schools. In this November 2020 presentation<\/a>, Google writes that getting kids into its ecosystem \u201cleads to brand trust and loyalty over their lifetime,\u201d as reported earlier by NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The heavily-redacted documents, which surfaced earlier this week, are linked to a massive lawsuit<\/a> filed by several school districts, families, and state attorneys general, accusing Google, Meta, ByteDance, and Snap of creating \u201caddictive and dangerous\u201d products that have harmed young users\u2019 mental health. (Snap settled earlier this week<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Google has spent over a decade<\/a> investing in products built for education, while establishing Chromebooks<\/a> as a classroom staple. The 2020 document also includes a study on how the laptop brands used in schools have an \u201cinfluence on purchase patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another slide in the presentation highlights a 2017 story from The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, bolding a quote that says Google is part of a battle to \u201chook students as future customers.\u201d This quote appears multiple times in the presentation: \u201cIf you get someone on your operating system early, then you get that loyalty early, and potentially for life.\u201d The document also suggests that YouTube in schools could create<\/a> a \u201cpipeline of future users\u201d and creators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the same time, other slides<\/a> discuss some of the challenges associated with bringing YouTube to schools, including how the platform is \u201coften blocked\u201d and how \u201cefforts to make YouTube safe for schools have yet to work.\u201d The documents also acknowledge the potential impact of YouTube on mental health, with one 2024 presentation<\/a> showing a slide that says \u201cmany regret time lost when they unintentionally \u2018go down the rabbit hole,\u2019\u201d or that YouTube \u201c\u2018distracted\u2019 them from work or even getting to bed on time.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an emailed statement to The Verge<\/em>, Google spokesperson Jack Malon says the documents \u201cmischaracterize\u201d the company\u2019s work. \u201cYouTube does not market directly to schools and we have responded to meet the strong demand from educators for high-quality, curriculum-aligned content,\u201d Malon says. \u201cAdministrators maintain full control over platform usage and YouTube requires schools to obtain parental consent before granting access to YouTube for students under 18.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n