Google, who owns the video streaming company YouTube, is expected to pay a multimillion dollar fine for violating federal privacy laws protecting children as part of a settlement.
According to the Washington Post, the Federal Trade Commission’s three Republicans support the settlement, outweighing two Democrats who oppose it. Now it is up to the Justice Department to consider the matter.
The FTC found that Google did not do enough to protect children using the service and improperly collected data that violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The law disallows targeting and data collection of children under the age of 13.
Although the exact dollar amount of the settlement is still unclear, it is expected to be a multimillion fine and now goes to the Justice Department.
Some privacy advocates have complained about the way YouTube handles COPPA for years, alleging that some of the videos on its site, meant for people over the age of 13, are actually targeting children.
Some of the videos feature nursery rhymes, cartoons, and people opening kids’ toys. Despite that, YouTube alleges it has no way of knowing if kids receive the broadcasts, noting that kids can watch with parental approval.
Google is looking into ways to change the way it distributes children’s videos, including tweaking the algorithms that queue videos on the site.
