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YouTube accused of collecting information on kids and selling it to advertisers

Consumer advocacy groups claim tens of millions of U.S. children have been affected

Washington, D.C. — Just as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg prepares to testify in front of Congress over privacy violations comes allegations Google's YouTube Service is tracking kids’ activity and selling it to advertisers.

A coalition of more than 20 consumer advocacy groups filed the complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, claiming YouTube violated The Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA for years. The group claims that tens of millions of U.S. children have been affected and that the company is using the information to send them ads.

The groups are not only looking for YouTube to stop, but to be hit with "substantial civil penalties."

"If you're going to intrude on a child's life and if you're going to attempt to sell things to children and influence what children want and what they think, we at a minimum ought to have the parents involved," says Brian Ray, Director of the Cyber Security and Privacy Protection Center at Cleveland State University.

COPPA requires online companies to obtain parental consent to collect, use, or disclose personal information on children under 13 years old. It demands that they keep the information secure and prohibits them from "conditioning" children to participate in events that collect information.

YouTube policy does say kids under 13 can't have any Google-related account. But privacy experts say, they know children are watching.

"There are a number of child specific sites that they list and actively promote. And then on top of that, ads for things like Barbie dolls are frequently appearing on the site alongside these channels, that are clearly designed for kids,” says Professor Ray.

In fact, a Lakewood parent who contacted me said, "My two and a half year old started using my YouTube on his tablet, and I noticed that I started to get weird ads from across the ocean about toys I'd never heard of. It also started linking him to really creepy videos of adults dressed like kids playing with toys."

She said she's taken his tablet away several times because she can't figure out a way to avoid it.

You can change your ad settings and opt of Google's cookies in its Privacy section, but that won't get rid of ads entirely. You just won’t get personalized ones.

YouTube did not respond to my email for a comment.

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