Oath to Pay $5 Million in Record COPPA Settlement

Oath will settle charges by the New York attorney general that AOL’s ad exchange violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) for approximately $5 million, according to the New York Times. It will be the largest ever penalty for a COPPA violation.

COPPA is the federal privacy law that protects children under the age of thirteen. It took effect in April 2000 and is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

According to the media coverage, AOL technically prohibited the use of its technology on children’s sites, but it did so anyway. It bought space on other ad exchanges for COPPA covered website, treating it as normal ad space where it could use ad targeting. It also had a sales representative tell one large client that it was in compliance with COPPA, which led to significant purchases.

As part of the settlement, Oath will create a COPPA compliance program, provide annual training, and destroy the personal information it has collected on children.

There has been increasing attention on COPPA recently. Consumer groups complained to the FTC about the handling of children’s data on Youtube, and the New Mexico Attorney General in September launched a lawsuit against Google, Twitter and others for apps in the Play Store which are alleged to have targeted children and contained illegal tracking software collecting, among other things, geolocation data.

Additionally, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) has already said that he intends to reintroduce the Do Not Track Kids Act again in 2019. The bill would extend the age limit on COPPA from 13 years to 16 years of age in addition to other privacy enhancements for children.

More Blog Posts on COPPA:

COPPA, the Federal Children’s Privacy Law, Turns 20
Groups ask FTC to Fine Youtube over COPPA
Do Not Track Kids Act Back in Congress

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