Technology TheFOXposts.Com

WASHINGTON: Big tech companies, like YouTube owner Alphabet among many others, would face further limits on how they use children 's data to beef up profits under a proposal put out by the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday. The FTC said in a notice of proposed rule-making that it was considering changing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule to put more restrictions on when and how companies could monetize children 's data. It would also limit how companies can use notifications to nudge children to stay online. The rule affects companies which collect personal information about users under age 13. "Kids must be able to play and learn online without being endlessly tracked by companies looking to hoard and monetize their personal data," said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement. "The proposed changes to COPPA are much-needed, especially in an era where online tools are essential for navigating daily life." Since many platforms and...

A US appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit accusing Alphabet Inc's Google and several other companies of violating the privacy of children under age 13 by tracking their YouTube activity without parental consent, in order to send them targeted advertising. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle said Congress did not intend to pre-empt state law-based privacy claims by adopting the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. That law gives the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general, but not private plaintiffs, the authority to regulate the online collection of personal data about children under age 13. The lawsuit alleged that Google's data collection violated similar state laws, and that YouTube content providers such as Hasbro Inc, Mattel Inc, the Cartoon Network and DreamWorks Animation lured children to their channels, knowing that they would be tracked. In July 2021, US District Judge Be...