Is the FTC’s Google-YouTube settlement a “game changer”?

“It’s three times larger than any privacy penalty assessed against Google anywhere else in the world, and it is 10 times larger than the civil penalties we have obtained in all of our 31 prior COPPA cases combined… A penalty of this magnitude sends a strong signal about the importance of children’s privacy” – says FTC chairman Joseph Simons.

“YouTube and Google will now be required to develop and maintain a system so that its channel owners, those posting content, can identify that their content is child-directed.”

“Going forward, Google and YouTube will automatically have knowledge of, and COPPA liability for, all child-directed content designated through this mechanism. In this way, the order prevents YouTube and Google from turning a blind eye to the existence of kids’ content on the YouTube platform.”

“The settlement also requires YouTube to take measures to prevent targeted ads from being placed in content geared toward children.”

Details from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.