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FTC Settles with HyperBeard for $150K Over COPPA Violations

HyperBeard, Inc.June 4, 2020Federal Trade Commission

Penalty Amount

$150,000

Summary

HyperBeard, Inc., a developer of children's apps, agreed to pay $150,000 and delete personal information it illegally collected from children under 13 to settle FTC allegations that it violated COPPA by allowing third-party ad networks to collect persistent identifiers without parental consent. The settlement requires HyperBeard to obtain verifiable parental consent for future data collection and prohibits using the illegally collected data.

Remedy

HyperBeard must pay $150,000, delete all personal information collected from children in violation of COPPA, obtain verifiable parental consent for any future collection from children, and is prohibited from using or benefiting from the illegally collected data.

Monetary PenaltyConsent DecreeData DeletionInjunction

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review all vendor agreements with third-party ad networks, analytics providers, and SDK integrators to ensure they include robust COPPA-compliant clauses requiring verifiable parental consent before collecting persistent identifiers from children under 13. Customer-facing agreements (Terms of Service, Privacy Policies) for child-directed apps must explicitly disclose data collection practices and obtain parental consent. Employee and contractor agreements handling user data should include data handling protocols. Required changes include adding mandatory consent clauses, prohibiting behavioral advertising targeting children without consent, implementing data deletion protocols for illegally collected information, and ensuring all data processing aligns with COPPA's strict requirements for children's data.

Contract Search Terms

verifiable parental consentpersistent identifiersthird-party ad networksdata collection from children under 13COPPA compliancebehavioral advertisingdata sharing agreementchildren's privacy policyadvertising SDKuser consent mechanism

Laws Cited

COPPA

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

HyperBeard, Inc.

Also known as: HyperBeard

Industry

Technology

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"HyperBeard, Inc."
Fine Amount
"pay $150,000"
Laws Cited
"Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule)"
Violation Types
"by allowing third-party ad networks to collect personal information in the form of persistent identifiers to track users of the company’s child-directed apps, without notifying parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent."

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