United States · Children · 31 May 2023

Amazon pays $25m for keeping children's Alexa voice recordings forever

$25 million civil penalty plus deletion and data-use restrictions

Company: Amazon (Alexa)
Regulator or court: Federal Trade Commission and US Department of Justice
Law: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and FTC Act
Status: Settlement

What happened

The FTC and DOJ said Amazon kept children's Alexa voice recordings indefinitely by default, partly to improve its algorithms, and did not fully delete data when parents asked. The court order requires a $25 million penalty, deletion of inactive child profiles, and bars Amazon from using data subject to deletion requests to build or improve data products.

Sources

FTC press release (31 May 2023)DOJ press release

Summary in our own words. General information, not legal advice.

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