California, Online Gaming Company Settle Children’s Privacy Lawsuit

The California Attorney General’s office has reached a settlement with an online gaming company in a children’s privacy lawsuit involving a mobile app game and alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

David Stauss recaps the case on the Husch Blackwell’s Byte Back site. The complaint and June settlement with Tilting Point Media LLC were pursued jointly with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office.

In 2020, Tilting Point Media offered a mobile app game, “SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off,” on a free-to-play basis. The terms of service and privacy policy stated that use was not authorized for children under 13, but the complaint alleged that children under 13 used it regularly, citing findings by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, a division of the Better Business Bureau.

The findings concluded that the app “failed to provide a neutral and effective age screen” and did not obtain verifiable parental consent for the collection of personal information from children under 13.” Although the company agreed to implement changes, the California AG’s office and LA City Attorney initiated their own investigation.

Stauss writes that the investigation found several violations. For example, the app’s age screens did not ask for the user’s age in a neutral manner. It also allowed children under 13 to consent to receiving personalized advertising without verified parental consent.

The defendant will pay a $500,000 fine and around $10,000 for cost recovery to resolve the children’s privacy lawsuit. Additionally, the settlement requires the company to comply with various provisions of California and federal children’s privacy statutes regarding the personal information of minors.

Ajith Samuel, Chief Product Officer and Cofounder of data risk company Exterro, wrote about child privacy risk for Today’s General Counsel earlier this year.  Exterro and Today’s General Counsel also hosted a webinar on this topic. A replay can be dowloaded here.