EPIC - Senators Question Privacy and Safety of Facebook’s "Messenger Kids" App

Senators Question Privacy and Safety of Facebook’s "Messenger Kids" App

Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with questions about Facebook’s Messenger Kids app, aimed at children 6-12. The Senators said, “we remain concerned about where sensitive information collected through this app could end up and for what purpose it could be used.” The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act specifically limits the collection and use of data on children under the age of 13. Concerns about the misuse of children data remains high. EPIC and several consumer privacy organizations filed a complaint with the FTC in 2016 alleging that the Internet-connected doll Cayla spied on children. EPIC also backed a L6 recent campaign to recall Mattel’s Aristotle, a device that collected data from young children. The campaign led Mattel to cancel the sale of Aristotle.

December 7, 2017| Share: