Weight Watchers diet app collected data on kids as young as 8, FTC says
CBSN
WW International — formerly known as Weight Watchers — and a subsidiary used a diet app to illegally collect personal data on children as young as eight, the Federal Trade Commission said Friday.
In a complaint filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FTC, regulators allege that the app collected children's names, email addresses and birth dates without their parents' consent. That's a violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, which requires apps, websites and online services that target kids to obtain a parent's permission before gathering, using or disclosing personal information from children under 13.
Until late 2019, users of the Weight Watchers app could sign up for the service by indicating online that they were a parent signing up their child or someone over the age of 13, the FTC said. A settlement order requires WW and its Kurbo unit to pay a $1.5 million penalty and delete sensitive health information.
