The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Microsoft $20 million for violating regulations governing children’s online privacy.
Microsoft got fined
It was discovered that the company collected personal information from children under the age of 13 without their consent.
The FTC investigation revealed that Microsoft improperly collected information such as names, email addresses, dates of birth, gamertags, gamer scores, and Xbox Live activity histories.
The Bill’s company used the personal data it collected to track children’s gaming habits, target advertising, and sell to third-party companies.
In response to the incident, Micro will be required to strengthen privacy safeguards, particularly for children who use the Xbox platform.
The order will also broaden the scope of Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) safeguards to include third-party gaming publishers who receive children’s data from it.
The software company blames the issue on a software glitch they apparently overlooked. Microsoft has fixed this technical glitch “where our systems did not delete account creation data for child accounts where the account creation process was started but not completed”.
Here is the official statement:
Regrettably, we did not meet customer expectations, but we are committed to following the order and continuing to improve our safety measures.
We believe we can and should do more, and we will remain steadfast in our commitment to our community’s safety, privacy, and security.
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