The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission, has announced that a federal court has entered a stipulated order resolving a case alleging that a China-based toy maker, Apitor Technology Co., Ltd. (Apitor), violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations (COPPA) in connection with its programmable robotic toys.
“The Justice Department will vigorously work to ensure businesses respect parents’ rights to decide when their children’s personal information can be collected and used,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with the FTC to stop unlawful intrusions on children’s privacy.”
COPPA prohibits operators of online services from knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13 (hereinafter, children), unless they provide notice to and obtain consent from those children’s parents.
In a civil complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the government alleges Apitor collected geolocation data from children who used Apitor’s app to control its robotic toys, without notifying parents or obtaining parental consent.
The stipulated order resolving this case enjoins Apitor from collecting or using data from children without making reasonable efforts to directly notify parents and obtain verifiable parental consent, and it also requires Apitor to delete children’s personal information that was previously collected without parental consent.
The order additionally imposes a $500,000 civil penalty, which is suspended due to Apitor’s inability to pay.
