Children and youth are among the most active users of social media platforms. But how much revenue do these platforms generate from them? Our new analysis provides the first estimate for Denmark for the age group 8-17.
Danish children and young people spend significant time on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. These platforms offer entertainment and social connection, but they can also expose minors to harmful content and addictive features, especially when age verification systems are weak or easily bypassed.
Children have become a core part of big tech’s business model. They are monetised directly through advertising views and indirectly through behavioural data collection, which drives algorithm optimisation and platform design. Yet, despite their importance, there is little transparency about the economic interests at play. Global financial reports from companies do not reveal how much revenue comes from specific markets like Denmark, nor how much is linked to children.
This lack of data may limit the ability of policymakers to understand and appropriately regulate the practices of the platforms. Our analysis aims to support Danish policymakers in designing proportionate regulation that protects children from harmful content and addictive features.
By combining existing data on user shares and time spent for all ages, we estimate the share of total platform use in Denmark that is related to children (share of total screen time). We then attribute platform-specific ad revenue in Denmark to children based on the share of total screen time. Finally, we adjust these figures to reflect the lower commercial value of ads aimed at children, given legal restrictions on targeted advertising.
Our method relies on publicly available data and simplifying assumptions, which means the estimates are associated with some uncertainty.
The study was commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs.
