F.T.C. Musically hit with a record fine for violating a child's privacy



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WASHINGTON – The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday a $ 5.7 million deal with Musical.ly, a popular video social network known as TikTok, following accusations that its application illegally collected personal information. on children.

F.T.C. said it was a record fine for a violation of children's privacy. The agency found that a large percentage of app users were under the age of 13 and had disclosed sensitive personal information, including their email addresses, names, and schools. F.T.C. said that the application did not ask permission from a parent to collect data on users. When parents asked him to delete videos and other data, the site declined.

Under the Children's Online Privacy Act, online services require parents' permission before collecting personal data from users under 13 years of age.

"This record penalty should remind all online services and websites that target children: we take the application of Coppa very seriously and we will not tolerate companies that blatantly ignore the law," he said. Joseph J. Simons, president of the agency.

In response to F.T.C. TikTok announced Wednesday the creation of a separate application for those under 13 years old. The new application will not allow the sharing of personal information and limits the content that can be displayed and shared, announced the company.

"Although we have always considered TikTok a place for everyone, we understand the concerns that arise about young users," the company said. "By working with the F.T.C. and, along with today's agreement, we have implemented changes designed to integrate young US users into a separate and limited enforcement experience, which introduces additional security and privacy protections designed specifically for this audience. "

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