This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
On September 5, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $170 million fine against YouTube, equivalent to approximately Sh17 billion, for breaching children's privacy.
The fine was issued due to allegations that YouTube tracked viewers of children's channels using cookies without parental consent, thereby violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) introduced in 1998 and revised in 2013.
According to the FTC, YouTube knowingly and illegally monitored, tracked, and served targeted ads to young children to keep advertising dollars rolling in.
YouTube responded to the fine by stating that it would limit data collection and use on videos made for kids only to what is needed to support the operation of the service.
The video streaming service has also been forced to introduce YouTube Kids, a platform designed for children according to their age brackets, where disturbing videos would be excluded.
It is worth noting that $34 million of the fine will be sent to the New York attorney general's office.
