Richard B. Newman Quoted in Cybersecurity Law Report on Xbox and Alexa COPPA Case Lessons: Avatars, Biometrics and Other New Expectations

FTC advertising compliance and defense lawyer Richard B. Newman was recently quoted in an article for Cybersecurity Law Report titled “Xbox and Alexa COPPA Case Lessons: Avatars, Biometrics and Other New Expectations.”

The article discusses the FTC’s recent privacy enforcement run and how it reinforces regulators’ expanding expectations for companies using video and audio recordings, smart devices and AI.  The article further discusses recent agency settlements with Microsoft, Amazon and educational technology provider Edmodo that drew $51 million in penalties, broke new ground on the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule enforcement and signaled new expectations for all companies’ privacy compliance.

In discussing how COPPA is a tool for financial penalties and how these cases highlight the value of COPPA enforcement to the FTC versus its Section 5 authority under the FTC Act, Mr. Newman noted that “[i]n Amazon, obviously, the $25‑million settlement amount leaps out” for Alexa’s improper retention of voice recordings in violation of COPPA.

Mr. Newman further shared that “not just the FTC, but state attorneys general are becoming increasingly interested in expanding regulation of the use and sharing of consumer data, including geolocation data.”

While the FTC contests the issue at the federal level, data brokers and those that interact with them should expect that the plaintiffs’ class action bar and state AGs may lodge claims under state “little FTC acts” that echo the FTC’s July 2022 statement about geolocation data or the biometric one, Mr. Newman cautioned.

Contact Mr. Newman to discuss new FTC expectations, including, but not limited to, notifying third-parties of children’s data; fulfilling COPPA’s data minimization obligations; treating avatars, photo records and biometrics as COPPA personal information; prioritizing effective deletion with policies and training as COPPA personal information; designing default settings for greater privacy protection; and how recent cases reflect other regulatory enforcement trends.

Richard B. Newman is a digital advertising practices attorney at Hinch Newman LLP.  Follow FTC defense lawyer on JD Supra. 

Informational purposes only. Not legal advice. May be considered attorney advertising.