The FTC filed a complaint against the Department of Justice alleging that the app had collected the names, email addresses, and birth dates of children without their consent. This is a violation to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires that apps, websites, and online services that target children obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing any personal information.
The Weight Watchers app was available for sign-ups until late 2019. Users could indicate online that they were a parent or 13-year-old signing up for the service. WW and its Kurbo unit must pay $1.5 million in penalties and remove sensitive health information as part of a settlement order.
Lina Khan, FTC Chair, stated in a statement that “our order against these businesses requires them to delete any ill-gotten data and destroy any algorithms derived therefrom and pay a penalty of their lawbreaking.”
In 2018, Weight Watchers, a diet company that has been around since the 1960s, acquired Kurbo Health, a technology startup. In 2020, Kurbo by World Health released a wellness and health app for children aged 8-17. It was controversially launched, with many eating disorder researchers, therapists, and pediatricians concerned that it would stigmatize overweight children.
According to the company, younger users were encouraged to claim that they were 13 years old to avoid the requirement that their parents consent before any data was compiled on them.
According to the complaint, “Hundreds of users signed up for the app in 2014 and 2019 claiming they were over 13 years old. They then changed their birth dates on their profiles to show that they are really under 13.” The agency said that these users had continued to have access until FTC staff reached out to them.
Although the signup option was updated for children in 2020, problems with children being allowed to bypass the age limit continued. The FTC also added.
Kurbo denied violating the rules protecting children’s online privacy and said it took prompt action after being notified by FTC to correct any compliance gaps.
Kurbo’s general counsel Michael Colosi stated in an email to CBS MoneyWatch that Kurbo never targeted children with advertising or sold data to third parties.
Colosi said that the settlement was approved by a California federal judge on Thursday. It is not an admission or concealment of wrongdoing, but rather reflects “Kurbo’s desire to concentrate on its business and its mission to continue to help families and kids in a safe, protected environment.”
The $70 million fine that was imposed on Google by the FTC in 2019 for violating COPPA when it delivered targeted ads to children is much less severe than the financial penalty WW and Kurbo received.
In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report warning children and teens against discussing weight loss or how to lose it. Research found that having such conversations can lead to an increase in the likelihood of an eating disorder or gain weight later, according to the medical group.