FTC announces record $170 million COPPA settlement with Google and YouTube for children’s privacy violations

by Tracy Shapiro and Alaa Salaheldin

The Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General have announced that Google and YouTube will pay a record $170 million to settle allegations that YouTube violated the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA) Rule by collecting children’s personal information without required notice or verifiable parental consent.

The settlement marks the first instance in which the FTC has found a general audience online service in violation of the COPPA Rule for collecting personal information from a child-directed portion of its service, and demonstrates the FTC’s continued focus on children’s online privacy. Read more here.