According to the FTC, Amazon violated both the FTC Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by retaining children’s voice recordings and transcripts indefinitely by default until September 2019. The company also failed to delete transcripts for a significant period and retained voice information and geolocation data. In response, Amazon issued a statement expressing its disagreement with the FTC’s claims but settling to move past the matter. The company emphasized that Amazon Kids was designed with COPPA compliance in mind and highlighted the availability of options for parents to delete recordings and transcripts on the web. It also committed to deleting unused child profiles after 18 months to address concerns about lingering data.
