Amazon Agrees to Pay $25 Million Fine to Settle Allegations Alexa Voice Assistant Violated Children’s Privacy Law
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty as part of a settlement with the Justice Department and the FTC to resolve allegations the ecommerce giant’s Alexa voice assistant violated a U.S.
children’s privacy law, the DOJ announced. Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon also is required to change its practices relating to the alleged violations and inform consumers of its practices.
According to a complaint filed in May by the DOJ on behalf of the FTC, Amazon prevented parents from exercising their deletion rights under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule) and kept sensitive voice and geolocation data for years and used it for its own purposes “while putting data at risk of harm from unnecessary access.” Since May 2018, the U.S.
government alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Washington, Amazon’s Alexa-related offerings have included voice-activated products and services directed toward children under 13 years of age — in violation of COPPA, the COPPA Rule and the FTC Act.
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