For invading the privacy of children, Microsoft will pay $20 million.
Microsoft
A privacy violation involving children will cost Microsoft $20 million to rectify.
According to the FTC’s investigation, Microsoft disregarded a parent’s request for consent before illegally collecting personal information from a kid, such as the child’s phone number.Following the revelation that the tech giant inappropriately obtained data on youngsters who had made Xbox accounts, Microsoft is set to make a payment to US federal regulators in the amount of $20 million.
Federal Trade Commission
Monday marked the conclusion of negotiations between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Microsoft, which resulted in a settlement that provides enhanced protections for younger gamers.Among other violations, the FTC found that Microsoft had disregarded its obligation to educate parents about the policies governing its data collecting.According to the BBC, this comes after a similar step was taken against Amazon involving the company’s Echo devices the week before.According to the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by failing to properly seek parental consent and by retaining personal information on children under 13 for longer than necessary for accounts created before 2021. Both of these violations occurred before 2021.
online businesses
According to the report, online businesses and websites that cater to children are required by law to seek parental approval and tell the parent when personal information about their kid is being gathered. This requirement applies to both the collection of personal information and the approval of the collection of personal information.Customers need to sign up for an account with Xbox before they can utilise any of the platform’s services. During the initial setup process, information such as your complete name, email address, and birthday will be collected from you.
Microsoft maintained data
The FTC investigation also uncovered the fact that Microsoft did not obtain the approval of a parent before collecting a child’s personal information, such as the child’s phone number.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claimed in a statement that Microsoft maintained data “sometimes for years” from the account set up even when a parent did not complete the process between the years of 2015 and 2020.Microsoft failed to provide parents with information on the data it was collecting and sharing with other organisations.
Microsoft’s Chief Vice President
Microsoft’s Chief Vice President of Xbox Player Services, Dave McCarthy, stated in a blog post on the Xbox website that the company was “committed to complying with the order to continue improving upon our safety measures.” “Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations,” McCarthy said.”We believe that we can and should do more, and we’ll remain steadfast in our commitment to safety, privacy, and security for our community,” he continued. “We also believe that we can and should do more.”According to the terms of the settlement, Microsoft is required to implement new safety precautions for minors, all of which must first receive approval from a judge before they can take effect.
Amazon
In addition, the settlement requires the corporation to implement and maintain a system that will destroy all personal data fourteen days after it is collected if parental consent was not obtained.When the Federal Trade Commission found out that Amazon had stored sensitive data, including recordings of children’s voices, for years, Amazon previously agreed to pay a fine of $25 million.Ring, a device sold on Amazon that includes a doorbell camera, has come to an agreement to pay $5.8 million as a result of the company allowing its employees free access to customer information.
