Path Settles With FTC Over Alleged COPPA Violations

Social networking app Path has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in which the startup will pay $800,000 to settle charges of allegedly collecting information on children under the age of 13.

Under the conditions of the settlement, Path will also be required to submit to privacy audits every other year for the next two decades. The allegations stem from a period in early 2012, when Path had discovered approximately 3,000 underage users on the social networking service, which collects birthdate information during the signup process — a clear violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). According to the FTC, Path did not “spell out its collection, use and disclosure policy for children’s personal information,” it didn’t disclose that collection process to parents, and it didn’t obtain “verifiable parental consent before collecting children’s personal information.”