Google Fined: Company To Pay FTC $170 Million For Collecting Children's Private Data Through YouTube

Google's video-sharing website YouTube will pay the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) $170 million to settle allegations that the popular video streaming platform violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting unauthorized data on children.

The announcement Wednesday by the FTC claims that YouTube breached the personal data privacy of young users, which requires giving "notice to parents and obtain their verifiable consent before collecting children's personal information online."

YouTube then used the data collected by tracking children on the platform to make millions in profit, as it was able to then use ads to target young users.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, says children under the age of 13 can only give out personal information online with parental permission.

The FTC voted 3-2, along party lines, with two Democrats voting against the settlement, as they believe it does not go far enough.

FTC Chairman Joe Simons said that "there's no excuse for Youtube's violations of the law." Simons said YouTube has routinely advertised itself as a platform to reach children, with the company promoting itself to toymaker giants Hasbro and Mattel.

FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, a Democrat, said YouTube "baited children using nursery rhymes, cartoons, and other kid-directed content on curated Youtube channels to feed its massively profitable behavioral advertising business."

The settlement today comes after the FTC fined Facebook $5 billion in July for data breaches on the social media platform, the largest fine in FTC history.

Last year, it was discovered that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, had used Facebook to collect data on millions of users without their consent.

The FTC is the chief government agency working on data privacy and enforcement. The agency hopes to "protect consumers' personal information and ensure that they have the confidence to take advantage of the benefits of the ever-changing marketplace."

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., purchased YouTube in 2005.