FTC Orders OpenX to Pay $2M on COPPA; Phillips Concurs
The FTC ordered an online advertising platform to pay $2 million to settle allegations the company “collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.” OpenX Technologies violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule when it knew it…
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was reviewing hundreds of child-directed applications and collected personal information of children under 13, the agency said. Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the order. Commissioner Noah Phillips highlighted some “areas of concern,” in a concurrence. There’s no “obvious reason” to require OpenX to provide notice to its clients about the data allegations other than to “perhaps further penalize OpenX,” he said. He noted the FTC sought $7.5 million from OpenX in its stipulated order but settled for $2 million due to its inability to pay. “OpenX secretly collected location data and opened the door to privacy violations on a massive scale, including against children,” said Consumer Protection Bureau Director Samuel Levine Wednesday. An attorney for the company didn’t comment Thursday.