Google would have been fined for violating children's privacy on YouTube

Google has reportedly settled a multi-million dollar settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission for alleged violation of YouTube's privacy laws. The settlement came after an FTC investigation into whether the tech giant had adequately protected the data of children using the platform, according to a report released Friday by the Washington Post, citing two people close to the case.

In June, it was reported that Google could be fined as a result of an investigation by the federal government at an advanced stage Processing YouTube Kids Videos. This report was released the same day YouTube announced that it was considering important changes to protect its younger content creators and viewers. This could include moving the content of all children to the YouTube Kids app.

Reading in progress:
Look at this:

YouTube accused of violating laws protecting children's privacy

2:22

According to Post, the investigation revealed that Google had incorrectly collected data relating to children, which constitutes a violation of the law on the protection of children's online privacy. However, the Ministry of Justice has not yet approved the details of the fine.

Google declined to comment, while the FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, US Senator Ed Markey sent a letter to the FTC expressing his concerns about YouTube Kids Content Practices, asking the commission "to hold YouTube responsible for any illegal activity affecting children that the company could have committed".

"Personal information about a child can be exploited to hook consumers for years to come," writes Markey in his letter. "It is the responsibility of the FTC to enforce federal law and defeat the ever-growing appetite for child-related data."

Meanwhile, the Center for Digital Democracy and the Campaign for a Child Without Advertising also sent a letter to the FTC suggesting sanctions for the video streaming giant. They recommended removing all child-related data, civil sanctions, as well as "a $ 100 million fund to support the production of non-commercial, high-quality and diverse content for children".