YouTube COPPA Complaint Seeks Billions in Civil Penalties

YouTube's data collection policies are in direct violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) for young users of the video sharing service, consumer and other groups said in a FTC complaint filed Monday against the Google-run service. They said YouTube knows children use the service, portions of YouTube are directed at children and YouTube uses information collected from users such as geolocation and unique device identifiers to target advertising without giving parents notice or obtaining advanced verifiable parental consent as COPPA requires. The groups said YouTube can't use the "age gate" exception under COPPA since it requires registration only to post videos, not to watch them. They asked the FTC to enjoin Google from further COPPA violations and to assess "substantial" civil penalties of "tens of billions of dollars." Signing the complaint were 23 groups, including Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Parents Television Council and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. A YouTube spokesman emailed that the company is reviewing the complaint and will evaluate if there are ways to improve. The spokesman also said protection of children has been a top priority and pointed to creation of the YouTube Kids app offering a children-focused alternative to the service. The spokesman said its Terms of Service Section 12 makes clear the service isn't for users under 13, and its advertising policies restrict advertisers from targeting personalized ads at or collecting personally identifiable information from children under 13.