SEC Investigates Whether AppLovin’s Targeted Advertising Violated Platform Partners’ Service Agreements

Mobile advertising technology company AppLovin is reportedly being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is looking into whether the company pushed more targeted advertising to consumers than was allowed by its platform partners’ service agreements.

It is not known how far the investigation has advanced, but the SEC has not accused the company or its officials of wrongdoing, Bloomberg reported Monday (Oct. 6), citing unnamed sources.

The SEC’s probe came in response to a whistleblower complaint and several short-seller reports, according to the report.

The agency declined Bloomberg’s request for comment, citing the government shutdown, per the report.

Asked about the report by Bloomberg, AppLovin said, according to the report: “We regularly engage with regulators and if we get inquiries we address them in the ordinary course. Material developments, if any, would be disclosed through the appropriate channels.”

AppLovin said in a March 28 press release that it retained a law firm to investigate short report activity that was targeting the company.

The company said it retained Alex Spiro, partner and co-chair of the investigations, government enforcement and white-collar defense practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, to conduct the independent review and investigation.

“We are fully committed to defending the Company, its operations, and its reputation from those seeking to manipulate the market through false narratives,” AppLovin Co-founder and CEO Adam Foroughi said in the release. “We will take all necessary steps to ensure the facts are known and to protect our employees, stockholders and partners.”

It was reported in April that AppLovin was among the firms preparing bids to acquire TikTok. That report said some analysts have called AppLovin a potential “next TikTok” because of its artificial intelligence that can gather data on app users and use that information to tailor ads.

On Sept. 7, S&P Dow Jones Indices said AppLovin was among the new inductees to the S&P 500.

When announcing its second quarter results on Aug. 6, AppLovin reported that its revenue had increased by 77% compared to the same period in 2024 and reached about $1.3 billion. In addition, its net income was up 164% and its adjusted EBITDA was up 99%.