Google’s work in schools aims to create a ‘pipeline of future users,’ internal documents say

Newly filed internal documents show how Google viewed its work with schools as a way of turning children into lifelong customers — while the company simultaneously acknowledged research suggesting that YouTube, one of Google’s main platforms, can be unsafe and distracting.

In a 2018 presentation, one slide noted that the public sees YouTube as problematic for students because there is “No way to block unsafe content, comments, ads,” a challenge without a workable solution. A presentation last updated in 2024 said some survey respondents blamed YouTube for keeping them awake at night, among other negative effects on their well-being.

At the same time, other presentations described how Google’s growing presence in schools — through Chromebooks as well as its learning platforms and YouTube — helped the company build a “Pipeline of future users.”

One internal November 2020 presentation slide said acclimating children to Google’s ecosystem in school would hopefully…