Two App Developers To Pay Combined $360,000 in FTC Settlements for COPPA Violations
Two app developers agreed to pay a combined $360,000 to settle FTC allegations they violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule. Commissioners voted 4-0 to refer the complaints to the Justice Department and approve the proposed stipulated civil…
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penalty orders, which have the force of law when signed by a district court judge, the commission said in a news release Thursday. It said DOJ filed the complaints and orders on behalf of the commission with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. "These cases are the first in which the FTC alleged that companies allowed advertisers to use persistent identifiers to serve advertising to children," said the commission. It described persistent identifiers as "pieces of data that are tied to a particular user or device." In its complaint against Retro Dreamer, which will pay a $300,000 civil penalty, the FTC alleged the company and principals Craig Sharpe and Gavin Bowman allowed third-party advertisers to collect children's personal information through a number of apps. "One advertising network over the course of 2013 and 2014 specifically warned the defendants about the obligations of the revised COPPA Rule, and also told the defendants that certain of their apps appeared to be targeted to children under the age of 13," said the FTC. The commission filed a similar complaint against LAI Systems, which will pay a $60,000 civil penalty. The developer "failed to inform the ad networks that the apps were directed to children and did not provide notice or get consent from children’s parents for collecting and using the information," said the FTC. Both Retro Dreamer and LAI Systems did not comment at press time.