Klobuchar Statement on Settlement of FTC Privacy Complaint for Developer of Children's Mobile Applications

Statement

In FTC's first case involving mobile applications, a developer is held accountable for collecting personal information from children without parental consent

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today released the following statement regarding the announcement that a developer of mobile applications, including children's games, will pay $50,000 to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC's COPPA Rule by illegally collecting and disclosing personal information from tens of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents' prior consent. This is the Commission's first case involving mobile applications.

"This settlement is an important victory for online and mobile privacy," Klobuchar said."Mobile apps can be great tools for kids to learn and have fun, but parents should never have to worry that their child's personal information is being collected or violated. I will continue to make sure we have clear rules of the road that allow consumers to have more control over their online and mobile information."

Klobuchar has worked to protect consumers from deceptive "in-app purchases," where phone companies offer free-to-download applications for smartphones and then sometimes charge users for other products and services once the application is launched often without a clear warning of how much customers are being charged. She has also fought to end harmful billing practices such as "cramming," which occurs when a third party adds unauthorized, misleading, or deceptive charges to consumers' phone bills.

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

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