A group of 22 consumer advocates, led by the Institute of Public Representation of the Georgetown University School of Law (United States), presented a formal complaint against Google on Wednesday.
This institute asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the company misled parents by promoting children's applications that may violate the Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and Google's own policies.
"The Play Store's Family section's business model benefits advertisers, developers, and Google at the expense of children and parents," Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said in a statement before pointing out. also the following: «Google puts its stamp of approval on apps that break the law, manipulate children to see ads and make purchases.
Examples cited in the complaint include applications "Preschool Education Center" and "Top 28 Nursery Rhymes and Song", which access the user's location, according to an analysis by the privacy research collective AppCensus. Other apps, such as "Baby Panda's Carnival" and "Design It Girl - Fashion Salon," were among those listed that sent device identification data to ad tech companies, allowing them to create a user profile.
The complaint also highlights several apps that may not be age appropriateincluding the "Kids Dentist Game" which allows the player to apply the virtual shots to the patient on the back of the throat. Another game, "Doctor X and the Urban Heroes," requires players to remove a patient's clothes. Several apps were also highlighted that required excessive purchases to continue using them, according to some parents and guardians.
A Google spokesperson said the company takes "these issues very seriously and continues to work hard to remove any content that is inappropriately targeted at children from our platform."
“Parents want their children to be safe online and we work hard to protect them. Applications in our Designed for Families program must comply with strict content, privacy and advertising policies, and we take action on any policy violations we find"Said a Google spokesman in a statement.
(Source)