YouTube asks the FTC to clarify how video creators should comply with COPPA ruling
0Reported today on TechCrunch
For the full article visit: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/09/youtube-asks-the-ftc-to-clarify-how-video-creators-should-comply-with-coppa-ruling/
YouTube asks the FTC to clarify how video creators should comply with COPPA ruling
YouTube is asking the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for further clarification and better guidance to help video creators understand how to comply with the FTC's guidelines set forth as part of YouTube's settlement with the regulator over its violations of children's privacy laws. The FTC in September imposed a historic fine of $170 million for YouTube's violations of COPPA (the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). It additionally required YouTube creators to now properly identify any child-directed content on the platform.
To comply with the ruling, YouTube created a system where creators could either label their entire channel as child-directed, or they could identify only certain videos as being directed at children, as needed. Videos that are considered child-directed content would then be prohibited from collecting personal data from viewers. This limited creators' ability to leverage Google's highly profitable behavioral advertising technology on videos kids were likely to watch.
As a result, YouTube creators have been in an uproar since the ruling, arguing that it's too difficult to tell the difference between what's child-directed content and what's not. Several popular categories of YouTube videos - like gaming, toy reviews, and family vlogging, for instance - fall under gray areas, where they're watched by children and adults alike. But because the FTC's ruling left creators held liable for any future violations, YouTube could only advise creators to consult a lawyer to help them work through the ruling's impact on their own channels.
Today, YouTube says it's asking the FTC to provide more clarity.
"Currently, the FTC's guidance requir