YouTube: Illegally Tracking Children’s Data
Google subsidiary, YouTube, has collected data of children users without the consent of parents and then sold the data to advertisers. The Federal Trade Commission fined Google $170 million in what was the largest fine in Google’s history. Absent a plausible public explanation, YouTube and its parent company risk anger and alienation from investors, application users, parents groups, and perhaps further regulatory oversight from the Congress of the United States. 11 pp.
Case #19-18. (2019)
1. To examine how big-tech companies generate revenue through data gathering, data retention, and targeted marketing.
2. To assess the ethical and legal implications of data privacy violations.
3. To encourage analysis of a business problem, identify stakeholders, and evaluate scope of harm to the aggrieved parties.
4. To discuss the level of power big-tech companies should have and whether regulators have the means to conduct effective oversight.
5. To evaluate the level of responsibility big-tech companies have to protect the rights and privacy of users – particularly that of young children – and that of the companies that use data collected by big-tech companies for advertisement purposes.