Xbox kept the kids' data, consent optional
Microsoft paid $20 million FTC settlement over children's Xbox account data
The market's verdict: -1.1% on MSFT in the week after.
What actually happened
In June 2023 the FTC announced a $20 million settlement over charges that Microsoft collected personal information from children under 13 who created Xbox accounts before obtaining parental consent, and then, between 2015 and 2020, kept that data for years even when the parents never finished signing up. The company whose browser once asked YOUR permission for everything had quietly warehoused kids' names, birthdays and contact details against the rules of the one law written for exactly this. Microsoft agreed to compliance changes and paid the fine, which works out to a rounding error per child.
This one is officially acknowledged.
Links
↳ caused by FTC COPPA settlement (June 2023)
Timeline
- Jun 5, 2023 Mitigated Microsoft put safeguards around it.