Microsoft has agreed to pay a $20 million fine to close a case over allegations that it harvested personal information from children without parental consent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has communicated this, explaining that the IT giant has collected personal information from children who have signed up for its Xbox gaming platform without notifying parents or obtaining parental consent and has illegally stored personal information some children.
The FTC has pointed out that Microsoft’s actions violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. In addition to the fine, Microsoft will be required to strengthen privacy protections for younger Xbox users and added that it will also extend privacy protections to publishers of third-party games with which Microsoft shares children’s data.
As Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said, “our action should also clarify that children’s avatars, biometrics and information about their health are not exempt” from the guarantees of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The ordinance will now need to be approved by a federal court before it can go into effect.
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