FTC Fines Google $170M For Collecting Data On Kids

CNBC reports:

Google’s YouTube will pay $170 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York attorney general that it earned millions by illegally collecting personal information from children without their parents’ consent.

The settlement, announced Wednesday, was passed in a 3-2 vote by the commissioners along party lines. The two Democrats voted against it, saying it did not go far enough to punish YouTube.

The settlement requires Google and YouTube to pay $136 million to the FTC and $34 million to New York for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The $136 million penalty is the largest amount the FTC has ever obtained in a COPPA case since Congress enacted the law in 1998, according to the agency.