THIS WAS PUBLISHED AS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR A MOBILE MEDIA CLASS
So, what happened?
On September 4th, 2019 it was announced that Google and its subsidiary company YouTube will pay $136 million dollars to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and $34 million dollars to the New York Attorney General. This record breaking $170 million dollars will be paid to settle allegations that Youtube illegally collected data from children without the consent of their parents. This was a violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which requires that websites and online services which are directed at children notify users of their information collection practices, and if they aim to collect personal information from users under the age of 13 they must obtain parental consent. The particular information YouTube collects is cookies, or persistent identifiers which are used to track an individual user’s browsing habits. They use this information to show users specifically targeted ads based on their interests, and have made millions of dollars using this practice.
How has YouTube gotten away with this?
YouTube has claimed to be a general audience website with users 13 and older rather than child-directed website, and websites for an older audience do not need to follow these rules. However, many of YouTube’s most popular channels are targeted at children, a fact which they are aware of as they have marketed themselves to children’s companies such as Mattel and Hasbro as a destination for kids and allow for individual channels to identify their content as directed at children. (Federal Trade Commission, 2019). On the other hand, the YouTube Kids app does follow COPPA guidelines. (Smith & Shade, 2018) But these allegations are not about YouTube Kids, they are about the channels and content for children which is accessed on YouTube through the website or regular YouTube application, and the data which is collected from this content.
So, what happens now?
On top of the $170 million settlement, YouTube and Google will have to create, implement, and maintain a system which allows for channels to identify child-directed content so that Youtube ensures that content is COPPA compliant. It also includes some privacy measures including data notices and obtaining parental consent on YouTube. (Federal Trade Commission, 2019) Rohit Chopra, who works for the FTC, spoke about how he thought the penalty was not nearly enough and worries that nothing will change. Analysts value YouTube at $180 billion, and with Google being one of the largest corporations on the planet worth over $800 billion, $170 million is a very small amount, and is less than what Google/YouTube earned from purposely breaking the COPPA to collect children’s data. And since what the FTC is requiring is focused on content creators identifying whether or not their content is for children, if there is children’s content which is not explicitly identified by its creator, Youtube and Google can continue to take data from the children watching it and blame the creator rather than taking responsibility. (Chopra 2019)
So will YouTube and Google change for the better? We don’t know yet, but only time will tell.
Read More:
Chopra, R. (2019, September 5). FTC Fines Google $170 Million For YouTube Children’s Privacy Violation (Interview by S. Inskeep) [Transcript]. Retrieved from NPR website: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/05/757803879/ftc-fines-google-170-million-for-youtube-childrens-privacy-violation
Federal Trade Commission. (2019, September 4). Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law [Press release]. Retrieved from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/09/google-youtube-will-pay-record-170-million-alleged-violations
Smith, K. L., & Shade, L. R. (2018). Children’s digital playgrounds as data assemblages:Problematics of privacy, personalization, and promotional culture. Big Data & Society. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951718805214
