FTC Issues Largest Fine Ever Under COPPA
On February 27, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with video social networking app TikTok, in which the company agreed to pay $5.7 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the largest fine issued under the law to date. According to the FTC, the company was aware that children under 13 were using the app but failed to obtain parental consent prior to collecting the children’s names, email addresses, and phone numbers, among other information. The FTC also alleged the company failed to inform parents of its information collection practices and delete children’s collected personal information upon request by their parents. Along with the penalty, the FTC’s settlement requires the company’s information collection practices to be in compliance with COPPA going forward.
You can read more about the settlement in the FTC’s press release.
