To settle the Alexa privacy lawsuit, Amazon will pay $25 million.

Amazon has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a complaint brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which claimed that the company’s Alexa voice assistant violated the privacy rights of children.

Background

The FTC filed the case in 2022, claiming that Amazon had collected and stored voice recordings of children without their parents’ permission, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC said that by failing to give parents clear and obvious notice of its data collection practices and by making it difficult for parents to quickly remove their children’s data, Amazon fell short of its obligation to protect children’s privacy.

Settlement

Amazon will pay the FTC $25 million as part of the settlement and amend its privacy policies. These modifications include:

• Getting permission from parents before capturing children’s voices.
• Unless the parent provides permission, deleting voice recordings after a predetermined period of time.
• Developing a new privacy dashboard for parents that will enable them to view the information that Amazon has amassed about their kids and delete it.

Impact

The agreement is a win for the FTC and a warning to other businesses that they must safeguard children’s privacy. Parents should guard their children’s privacy and be aware of the privacy dangers associated with voice assistant use.

Tips for Parents

The following advice is for parents that utilize Alexa (Voice assistant from Amazon):

• Discuss with your kids the privacy dangers associated with using Alexa.
• Teach your kids to refrain from saying anything to Alexa that they wouldn’t want anybody else to hear.
• Configure Alexa’s parental settings so you can manage what information is gathered and how it is utilized.
• Keep an eye on your kids’ use of Alexa to make sure they’re using it properly and safely.

By following these tips, you can help to protect your children’s privacy when they use Alexa.

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