WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement of $170 million and injunctive relief with Google and YouTube for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

“It is unacceptable that Google and YouTube made millions of dollars by allowing companies to track and advertise to children under the age of 13 without their parents’ consent. A one-time penalty of $170 million for a company with profits exceeding $100 billion will not necessarily prevent this type of egregious behavior from happening again. In addition, the settlement places the burden on the companies that upload videos onto YouTube to identify content directed at children, but it places no responsibility on Google or YouTube to ensure that children aren’t being inappropriately targeted. It’s time for Congress to act.”

In January, Klobuchar and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act, bipartisan legislation that would protect the privacy of consumers’ online data by improving transparency, strengthening consumers’ recourse options when a breach of data occurs, and ensuring companies are compliant with privacy policies that protect consumers.

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