The child-friendly YouTube Kids apps are laden with advertising that young children shouldn't be watching, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission.

Several groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy, are asking the FTC to investigate Google for "unfair and deceptive practices" regarding YouTube Kids.

YouTube Kids launched in February for iOS and Android, and was billed by Google as a "safer and easier" alternative to the main YouTube app. It includes parental controls, voice search for younger kids, as well as large and brightly colored icons for tiny hands.

According to today's complaint, however, the app is "intermixing advertising and programming in ways that deceive young children, who, unlike adults, lack the cognitive ability to distinguish between the two." That includes "branded channels" for McDonald's, Barbie, Fisher-Price, and other companies.

Some of the videos also include pre-roll ads, the complaint says.

YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the FTC does not normally comment on complaints or investigations.

Other organizations that signed the complaint include the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children Now, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Consumers Union, Corporate Accountability International, and Public Citizen.