YouTube—YouTube paid record $170M FTC/NY settlement for illegally collecting children's data without parental consent
The FTC and New York Attorney General fined Google/YouTube $170 million ($136M to FTC, $34M to NY) for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13, including viewing history, without parental consent. YouTube had marketed its popularity with children to advertisers like Mattel and Hasbro while refusing to acknowledge portions of its platform were directed at kids. This was the largest COPPA penalty in history at the time.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Consumer Protection | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| User Privacy | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.492 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)× agency (negligent ×0.5)
Evidence (1 signal)
FTC announced record $170M settlement with Google/YouTube for COPPA violations
The FTC announced that Google and YouTube would pay a record $170 million to settle allegations that YouTube illegally collected personal information from children without parental consent, in violation of COPPA. The complaint noted YouTube marketed its popularity with children to advertisers while refusing to acknowledge its platform was directed at kids.