Google’s video site YouTube is being fined $170 million to settle allegations it collected children’s personal data without their parents’ consent.
The Federal Trade Commission fines Google $136 million and the company will pay an additional $34 million to New York state to resolve similar allegations.
The fine is the largest the agency has yet leveled against Google, although it is tiny compared to the $5 billion fine the FTC imposed against Facebook this year for privacy violations.
This March 18, 2010 photo shows the YouTube website (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File).
The FTC has been investigating YouTube for the way it handles the data of kids under the age of 13. Young children are protected by a federal law that requires parental consent before companies can collect and share their personal information.
“YouTube touted its popularity with children to prospective corporate clients,” FTC chairman Joe Simons said in a statement. Yet when it came to complying with the law protecting children’s privacy, he said, “the company refused to acknowledge that portions of its platform were clearly directed to kids. There’s no excuse for YouTube’s violations of the law.”
— AP
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