Google paying for child privacy violations

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Google and its YouTube service is paying the FTC $170 million for violating children’s privacy. But how did they run into trouble with the law, and what should parents know moving forward? Dr. Marc Clauson, a history and law professor with Cedarville University, joined 2 NEWS Thursday with the details.

The settlement comes after allegations that the company broke federal law by collecting personal information about children.

This is the largest settlement since a law banning the collection of information about children under 13 went into effect in 1998.

“It doesn’t have to be a direct kind of collection where you’re up front about it, but it can be a clandestine kind of collection, too. If you use cookies, for example, on the internet, children may not know about it or people may not know about it in general. That would fall under that law, too,” said Dr. Clauson.

He goes on to say that the moment Google/YouTube failed to secure parents’ permission before collecting this information is the moment it became illegal.