YouTube Accused of Illegally Collecting Data from Children
The heavy price of children watching hours of videos of unboxing videos, weird Elsa and Spider-Man cartoons and sing-a-longs: Data.
As proven by the ongoing issues of privacy on social media, such as the ongoing Cambridge Analytica-Facebook debacle, user data in the wrong hands can mean a lot of trouble for billion-dollar corporations. YouTube, too, who has spent nearly a year licking its wounds over their kids' app, both because the content they’re feeding kids is deeply disturbing and it might constitute abuse, now finds itself in data-collection hot seat.
On Monday, a bloc of more than 20 digital and child privacy advocacy groups filed a federal complaint accusing the video-streaming giant of illegally collecting data from tens of millions of U.S. children for several years. Led by the Center for Digital Democracy and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the coalition demands the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate YouTube for potential violations of the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a U.S. federal law that limits the scope of data collection from minors and requires parental consent or age-restriction. The complaint also demands that YouTube promptly change their privacy policies for the underage.
"Google has made substantial profits from the collection and use of personal data from children on YouTube,” reads the complaint. “Its illegal collection has been going on for many years and involves tens of millions of US children.”
The groups claim that an estimate of more than 23 million children have had their data “inappropriately collected” and request that, if found guilty, YouTube be fined up to $41,484 per violation, which could rack up to billions of dollars.
The latest stumbling block for the video-sharing platform comes on the heels of its complete overhaul of the YouTube Kids Application, the company's latest effort in response to the growing criticisms of its shoddy content moderation and parental controls. According to YouTube, the newly improved app will do away with the algorithm that ended up bizarre and upsetting videos featuring 8-year-olds in diapers pretending to be babies (as well Flat-Earth conspiracy videos that generate so much ad revenue) and feature a whitelist system that gives parents control of what their children view. By removing the algorithm, the algorithm that pushes nightmarish Spider-man and Elsa videos to the fore will not be available unless designated. The curation of the whitelist will be handled by humans.
In response to the allegations, YouTube stated that it "will read the complaint thoroughly" in an email exchange with the Associated Press.
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DirkDiggums
I have two toddler boys, aged 2 and 3, and for some reason the more low quality, asinine, half-assed the kids video is the more likely they are to watch it. Finding Nemo? Doesn't keep their attention for more than 20 minutes. Some stupid low quality shitty flash animation with stock sound effects? Some video of some kid playing with toys? They'll watch for over an hour.
OH YEAH
You know, I've spent a good chunk of my life on YouTube. And after thirteen years, I've come to a conclusion that the cornerstone of 21st century digital media has turned into the misinformation hellhole we all feared at the turn of the millennium. And it's fucking disturbing.
I can only hope YouTube doesn't implode in the upcoming years.
DirkDiggums
i graduated high school around y2k and I would have never imagined then that the "information superhighway" would become the "misinformation hellhole". It's sad how the internet has been abused to this point.
Raptured Asylum
Go read a book, children.
WELLLLMYNAMEISJOP
You forget that literal infants cannot read, let alone lift up a book's cardboard pages, innit?
Sai
eBooks on their mobile devices.
nabusco
Turly information is the greatest weapon and also worst enemy.
The Glorious Lobster Emperor
Just so you guys know, all the collected data is going to me. Gotta make sure those kids get their healthy dose of crustacean propaganda.
El piso
Remember when YouTube was the vanguard of video, unbiased and willing to push the boundaries?
Pepperidge farm remembers
BlahBlahUsernameBlahBlah
Giving your child a tablet to watch videos on the internet is an incredibly stupid idea and parents should be more than aware at this time of type of content that lurks on it.
For Christs sake there are better ways to babysit your child. Get a them a fucking Disney movie, a G-rated DVD series, buy a portable DVD player for road trips, or at the very least restrict internet access or something, instead of giving your kid free-reign of with what they can choose view on Youtube or the internet in general. It should be basic common sense.
samuraimaster1776
That's what you get Youtube, for being fucking broken
Annon9007723
Ah youtube…we hate you…but dear god we love to hate you, and you give us so many reasons to.
james_w
Parents Accused of Using Screens to Babysit Their Kids and Then Complaining About Companies Exploiting Their Laziness