Congressmen question Google over kids' privacy on YouTube
Two members of Congress are calling on Google to address concerns that YouTube might violate children's privacy.
Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, sent a letter this week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for more details about how the service collects data.
Their letter comes months after privacy advocates filed a complaint about YouTube with the Federal Trade Commission. The complaint alleges that YouTube violates the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, which bans kid-oriented websites from collecting personal information from children under 13 without their parents' express consent. The FTC hasn't said if an investigation has been opened.
Google says YouTube isn't for children under 13, which is why it created a separate app for them, YouTube Kids.
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In this March 23, 2017, file photo Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., pauses to speak as he departs a Republican caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Democrat, and Fortenberry are calling on Google to address concerns that YouTube might violate children's privacy. The two members of congress sent a letter this week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for more details about how the service collects data. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) -
In this Feb. 4, 2014 file photo, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., questions Deputy Attorney General James Cole as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Examining Recommendations to Reform FISA Authorities, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Cicilline and and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican, are calling on Google to address concerns that YouTube might violate children's privacy. The two members of congress sent a letter this week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for more details about how the service collects data. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
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