“YouTube touted its popularity with
children to prospective corporate clients,”
FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement.
Yet when it came to complying with the law
protecting children’s privacy, he said, “the
company refused to acknowledge that
portions of its platform were clearly directed
to kids. There’s no excuse for YouTube’s
violations of the law.”
YouTube has said its service is intended for
ages 13 and older, although younger kids
commonly watch videos on the site and many
popular YouTube channels feature cartoons or
sing-a-longs made for children.
YouTube has its own app for children, called
YouTube Kids; the company also launched a
website version of the service in August. The
site says it requires parental consent and uses
simple math problems to ensure that kids
aren’t signing in on their own.
YouTube Kids does not target ads based on
viewer interests the way YouTube proper does.
The children’s version does track information
about what kids are watching in order to
recommend videos. It also collects personally
identifying device information.
The vote was 3-2 by the FTC commissioners,
with Simons and the two other Republicans
approving the terms of the settlement and the
two Democrats opposing them.
Commissioner Rohit Chopra, a Democrat,
noted it was the third time since 2011 that the
agency had sanctioned Google for privacy
violations, saying “This latest violation is
extremely serious.”