FTC COPPA’s largest settlement requires Musical.ly to change attitude

We’ll admit it, we sing along to Stevie Nicks songs or perform air guitar solos when no one is looking. But some people take lip-syncing to the next level. More than 200 million people, including 65 million in the United States, have downloaded the Musical.ly app. It provides users with a platform to create videos and synchronize them with popular songs. It also allows users to interact directly with each other. This may sound like fun to music fans, but it raises concerns among parents, especially given public reports of adults using the Musical.ly app to connect with their children. The FTC alleged that Musical.ly violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule by collecting children’s personal information without parental consent. The $5.7 million civil penalty is the largest ever imposed by the FTC under COPPA.

To sign up for the Musical.ly app, users provide their email address, phone number, full name, username, profile photo and a brief bio. For its first three years, Musical.ly didn’t ask users their age. Starting in July 2017, the company began asking for age and blocking people who said “age.”Who are you Under 13 to create an account. But Musical.ly didn’t go back and ask for age information from people who already had accounts.

Musical.ly’s online library (now called TikTok) has many popular tracks for teens and young children. After users create videos, they can share them publicly. Other users can comment and “follow” them to see more of their videos. By default, The user’s account is Setting it to “Public” means others can see their bio (which may include their age or grade in school), their profile picture and username. Users can choose to set up their accounts so that only approved followers can see their videos, but even then their bios, pictures, and usernames remain public and searchable.

By default, the app also allows users to send direct messages to any other user. Until October 2016, the app included a “My City” tab that provided people with a list of other users within a 50-mile radius.

This is how Musical.ly works, so let’s turn to how COPPA works. The rule applies to operators of websites and online services that: 1) are directed to children and collect their personal information, or 2) are directed to a general audience but have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children. If a website or service meets either definition, COPPA requires that they obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. The FTC complaint alleges that Musical.ly is protected by both standards.

First, the FTC stated that Musical.ly meets COPPA’s definition of a “child-directed” website. How does the agency make this decision? According to Article 312.2 of the Rules, Data on audience composition is an important factor, and in this case there is evidence that a large proportion of Musical.ly users are under the age of 13. In fact, multiple news articles between 2016 and 2018 highlighted the app’s popularity among teens and younger children.The rule lists other factors such as themes, visual content, music, and The presence of child celebrities or celebrities who appeal to children. You’ll have to read the complaint for details, but the FTC also cited a Musical.ly song folder titled “Disney” (containing music from movies, etc.) Toy Story and lion king) and “school” (songs that feature school-related themes or school-themed TV shows and movies). Additionally, the complaint mentions that users can send each other colorful emojis – Cute animals, smiley faces, etc..

Second, the complaint alleges that Musical.ly had actual knowledge that the company was collecting children’s personal information. A review of users’ profiles revealed that many of them provided their date of birth or grade in school. Since at least 2014, Musical.ly has received thousands of complaints from registered users and parents of children under the age of 13. In just two weeks in September 2016, the company received more than 300 complaints from mothers or fathers asking about music network Delete your child’s account. Of course, under COPPA, simply deleting existing accounts is not enough. According to the FTC, Musical.ly failed to delete the children’s videos and profiles from the company’s servers.

The complaint alleges Musical.ly violated COPPA:

• Failing to provide notice on their websites about the information they collect from children online, how they use that information, and their disclosure practices,
• Failure to notify parents directly,
• Collecting children’s personal information without obtaining parental consent,
• Failure to comply with a parent’s request to delete personal information collected from their child, and
• Retain personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary.

In addition to the $5.7 million civil penalty, the company agreed to change its practices to ensure compliance with COPPA.

The main message to other websites and services is to think twice before concluding that “we are not protected by COPPA.” According to COPPA, whether a company intends (or does not intend) to create a website targeted at children is not a factor controlling the analysis.Instead, the FTC will seekhe The look and feel of the website, and evidence of company ownership user’s actual knowledges Under 13 years of age. Please visit the Business Center’s Children’s Privacy page for resources that can help simplify your responsibilities under COPPA.

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via https://techempiresolutions.com/