Kids media research company We Are Family has released a guide that outlines need-to-know info about marketing to kids, to make it easier for producers to navigate the increasingly complicated business of reaching children.

The company’s Spring 2026 Trend Debrief: Global Rules and Regulations details the rules around marketing to kids and teens in eight markets: the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, China, Italy and Brazil. 

This is unique from We Are Family’s previous data- and trend-driven driven reports in that it’s meant as a tool for producers to get a handle on a fast-changing part of the industry, and to help them get an overview of differences around the world that can easily trip up a marketing strategy, says Maurice Wheeler, CEO of We Are Family. 

The report breaks down country-by-country specifics, and lists rules in specific sectors, such as gaming, sports, food, tech and entertainment. A quick example of one of the insights in the report is that in the UK, age verification, privacy-by-default and data minimization are baseline requirements for platforms that kids are likely to access. (Kidscreen has not independently verified all the information in the report for accuracy).

These rules and regulations around reaching kids are complicated and often multi-layered, and can lead to serious fines for companies that break them. At the same time, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for kids brands to reach kids, thanks to efforts like social media bans, which many countries are adopting. 

These regulations exist for good reasons, but ensuring compliance can be a difficult process, and this guide is aimed at helping producers navigate it, Wheeler notes.  

It’s also more important than ever that producers in the kids industry recognize that a key part of their job is marketing, says Wheeler. With so much competition, fragmentation and risk-averse buyers are increasingly looking for a sure-fire bet, and being able to confidently reach a wider audience and prove demand is becoming the only way to get a project off the ground, he says. 

We Are Family also created a chatbot with the information contained in the report, so producers can get immediate answers to their questions about what’s allowed where, Wheeler adds. 

“The regulatory landscape for engaging with kids online is changing rapidly and the penalties for falling foul of the rules is getting more severe—and rightfully so,” says Wheeler. “As producers try and build up online fanbases for their content, it is important to stay abreast of these rules and understand how the restrictions change across the world.”

Photo by Samsung Memory US on Unsplash