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US: Google to pay up to $200M to settle FTC YouTube probe

By  |  September 1, 2019

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is fining Google between US$150 million and US$200 million to settle the whole debacle with its subsidiary, YouTube, allegedly breaking children’s privacy law, Politico reported first on Friday, August 30.

While details about the settlement haven’t been officially announced, a person familiar with the matter told Politico the measure gained FTC approval with a 3-2 vote along party lines, seeming to confirm similar reports from the Washington Post last month. After gaining FTC approval, the settlement will go on to the Justice Department for review.

Reports of the FTC’s investigation into the online video platform originally surfaced in June after several privacy groups claimed YouTube collected data on its youngest viewers without parental consent in an effort to serve them ads. This would violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which limits how companies can scrape data from users younger than 13.

Full Content: Politico, Wall Street Journal

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