TikTok continues to remain entangled in children's privacy issues, as an ongoing investigation by the FTC has now been referred to the DOJ for potential violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The FTC’s new COPPA amendments would bolster children's privacy by further restricting how companies can collect, use and monetize the data of underage users, shifting a greater deal of responsibility for privacy online to service providers.
The UK ICO has wrapped up a preliminary investigation into Snap's AI chatbot, and has indicated that it is failing to adequately address children's privacy risks. There are numerous concerns about AI chatbots that are not yet resolved, but children's privacy seems to have driven much of the early action from regulators.
A children's privacy complaint that dates back to 2021 has resulted in a major GDPR fine for TikTok. The issue largely centers on the "Family Pairing" feature introduced in 2020 which had no real verification process ensuring that the linked parent account actually belonged to a parent.
Age verification laws will require social media platforms to collect more of your personal information, from your birth certificate to your school records to biometrics. The process may expose you to more privacy threats, such as potential data abuse, data leaks, and identity theft.
Failure to strictly follow children's privacy laws on the Xbox Live gaming service is about to cost Microsoft a substantial amount of money, as the company has settled a FTC case with a $20 million fine for inappropriate collection and storage of personal data.
The FTC has found that not only has Facebook not fully complied with its obligations, but that it has also been in violation of children's privacy regulations with its Messenger Kids app.
Nearly every tech company with some sort of social platform is rushing to get their own AI chatbot in place. Snap users are expressing concern about how it interacts with children, the level of access it has to personal information, and overbearing chat interactions.
The fine centers on TikTok's failure to police underage users that sneak onto the platform, and collection and use of children's data without required parental consent. ICO says that TikTok should have been aware of some one million underage users.
The aspect of SOTU that caught big tech's attention was a call for bipartisan support on antitrust enforcement and stronger protections for personal data. The president also called for targeted advertising to children to be banned.
