Senators Probe Facebook on More Possible Privacy Violations, This Time Over COPPA
Senators are pushing for "more transparency" around an alleged security flaw in Facebook Messenger Kids that allowed unauthorized adults to communicate with children under 13, in violation of COPPA.
August 06, 2019 at 04:53 PM
3 minute read
Two U.S. senators asked Facebook Inc. on Tuesday about a possible security flaw in its messenger application designed for children that would allow adults to contact underage users without parental approval.
In a letter to the Menlo Park, California-based company’s chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, pushed for “more transparency” around the alleged flaw in Facebook Messenger Kids’ app.
The senators pointed to reports from The Verge that “in thousands of cases” children using Facebook Messenger Kids joined group chats with members who did not have parental approval.
The app is designed for users ages 6 through 12 years old and “therefore, must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,” the senators wrote. Both raised concerns over Facebook Messenger Kids previously in a 2017 letter alleging the app violated COPPA by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.
“Together, these issues point to a worrying pattern of lax privacy protections for kids on the Messenger Kids platform,” the senators said. Neither immediately responded to request for additional comment.
Tuesday’s probe comes as Big Tech faces increased scrutiny over privacy, especially for young children.
Google settled a multimillion-dollar fine with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the agency enforcing COPPA, over violations on subsidiary platform YouTube last month. The FTC hit video platform Musical.ly, also known as TikTok, with a record-setting $5.7 million COPPA violation fine in February.
Less than two weeks ago, Facebook reached a $5 billion fine over privacy violations related to user data collection practices. A Facebook representative confirmed the company received Tuesday’s letter but declined further comment.
Senators gave Facebook until Aug. 27 to answer nine questions about the alleged Messenger Kids security flaw, including when Facebook became aware, if parents have been notified and if the company considers COPPA violations related to the flaw covered by its July FTC settlement.
“Children’s privacy and safety online should be Messenger Kids’ top priority,” the senators said. “Your company has a responsibility to meet its promise to parents that children are not exposed to unapproved contacts, a promise that it appears that Facebook has not fulfilled.”
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHow Marsh McLennan's Small But Mighty Legal Innovation Team Builds Solutions That Bring Joy
Aggressive FTC May Force Merging Companies to Bolster Legal Defenses
4 minute readBest Legal Departments: How Blackstone's Legal and Compliance Team Got the All-Clear to Grow Business
CEOs Want Data-Based Risk Management; GCs Lack the Tech to Do So.
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250