On June 5, local time, technology giant Microsoft was charged by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for illegally collecting children's personal information.。It is reported that Microsoft will pay a $20 million fine for the civil lawsuit.。

The Federal Trade Commission said in a statement that the company was charged with violating the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).。Under the law, online services and websites are required to notify parents of the personal information they collect and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting and using any personal information from children under the age of 13.。

The FTC said that from 2015 to 2020, Microsoft will require certain personal information from Xbox gamers under the age of 13 before requiring their parents to participate in creating accounts.。But even if the parents do not agree to the authorization, Microsoft sometimes retains this personal data for many years, which is prohibited by COPPA.。

As part of the proposed order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft must also make some changes。The changes include telling parents that children's accounts have additional privacy protections, requiring parents to consent to children's accounts created before May 2021, and having the system delete data needed about children's accounts with parental consent.。

In addition, the FTC said it would extend COPPA's protections to third-party game publishers who share children's privacy data with Microsoft.。When Microsoft needs to disclose a child's personal information, it should tell other publishers that the user is a child。

Samuel Levine, director of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer protection bureau, said: "Our proposed order makes it easier for parents to protect their children's privacy on Xbox, while limiting the information Microsoft can collect and retain about their children.。"This action should also make it very clear that children's virtual identities, biometric data and health information cannot be left outside the provisions of COPPA."。"

On the afternoon of June 5, Microsoft's Xbox official website issued a statement about it。In a statement, Microsoft blamed illegal collection of children's data on a technical glitch.。Microsoft claims that the company system did not delete account creation data for started but incomplete sub-accounts。The company's engineering team has taken action and has now repaired the fault, deleted the data, and taken measures to prevent the error from happening again。It is also emphasized that this data has never been used, shared or monetized.。The account creation process has also been updated。

In the statement, Microsoft also introduced the latest information collection policy, which helps parents know what information Microsoft collects and how it uses it.。Microsoft also offers a privacy dashboard where players can share data collected and used with their families.。Players can also adjust their privacy settings at any time, children's account default settings for the strongest privacy settings。

In addition to Microsoft, other Internet companies or game manufacturers have previously reached high-value settlements for alleged COPPA violations.。

Just on May 31, e-commerce giant Amazon was charged by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its smart voice assistant Alexa and its doorbell camera Ring for allegedly violating user privacy issues, and Amazon will pay more than $30 million in fines for the two civil cases.。

In December 2022, Fortnite developer Epic Games reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for as much as 5.$200 million。The company was charged with illegally collecting children's personal information and tricking people into shopping, among which, 2.$7.5 billion paid for alleged COPPA violations。Epic Games said the company has created features to protect child players, such as easier access to "parental controls," PIN requirements that allow parents to authorize purchases, and a daily spending limit for children under 13.。

Cases like these reflect the challenges tech companies face in protecting user privacy and raise alarm bells about the importance of industry regulation and user privacy。

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