Google could soon start mailing money to parents for a reason that traces back to what their kids were tapping on years ago.
The company and its advertising platform AdMob have agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that personal data was collected without proper consent. The settlement benefits parents whose children under 13 downloaded apps from the Google Play Store.
Strip off the legal wrapping, and the accusation is fairly grubby. Google, the suit says, was quietly pocketing personal details from children too young to grasp what that even means, and never once asked parents for their consent.
The allegations center on a law only a regulator could love: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, better known as COPPA. It exists to fence off kids under 13 from unchecked data collection. If you build an app aimed at children, or knowingly hoover up their personal details, a whole list of obligations lands on your shoulders. Google, the plaintiffs argue, strolled right past that fence.
The FTC, which enforces COPPA, sums up the rule this way: “COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age,” and the same standard applies to any operator with “actual knowledge” that they are collecting data from a child that young.
For parents, the timeline would probably be the real eye-opener as the eligibility window stretches across a full decade, covering any app downloaded by a child under 13 pulled from the Google Play Store between April 2015 and the present. That’s a lot of bedtime tablet sessions caught in the net.
What actually lands in any given bank account remains a mystery for now. The $8.25 million may sound like a windfall, but once it’s divided among all eligible families who file claims, the more hands that reach into the pot, the thinner the share each one walks away with.
It’s worth noting that the settlement itself is yet to receive final court approval. A hearing has been scheduled for September this year, so payments will only be disbursed once that approval comes through and any appeals have been resolved.
Sources: COPPA Class Action, The Sun, Top Class Actions