The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has now voted on a settlement amount that will be slapped on Alphabet Inc's Google for its alleged violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. The company has been under FTC investigation since 2018 for the apparent violation of children's privacy rights by its YouTube online video streaming service.
According to reports citing sources that have been briefed on the matter, the FTC has apparently agreed on a settlement amount of up to $200 million. The settlement amount is in line with previous reports, which pegged it to be between $150 million and $200 million.
The settlement proposal is reported now on its way to the US Justice Department for approval following a 3-2 vote by the FTC for the particular amount. The settlement itself is expected to be officially announced this week. It will be the single largest fine ever imposed on a company for violating the children's privacy rule.
The possible $200 million fine will surpass the previous record set in February this year, which was a $5.7 million civil penalty slapped on Chinese firm ByteDance. The Chinese company was found to be guilty of collecting data from its underage users for close to three years through its social media video app Musical.ly or also known as TikTok outside the United States.
According to Democratic Senator Ed Markey, the FTC's settlement amount is a "nominal fine" for what Google has done. The politician mentioned that the settlement basically lets Google off the hook for a grave violation against the children's online privacy rights.
The deputy director of the Center for Digital Democracy, Katharina Kopp, echoed the senator's sentiments and mentioned that the fine was extremely low given the nature of the violation. Kopp explained that Google had managed to rake in massive profits from violating the law and the company should have been fined a lot more as a result.
As a direct result of the investigation, Google had planned to create a section of YouTube for its much younger audience. Last week, the company officially launched YouTube Kids, a section of the site that parents will have more direct control of for their children.
Google stated during the launch that the site should become provide a safer environment for kids for them to explore appropriate videos in line with their interests. The site should also give parents the right tools to properly control and customize their children's viewing experience. Within the site, parents can choose between different age groups, which will then only show videos appropriate for the age of the viewer.
