Companies using virtual assistants , such as Amazon ’s Alexa , Apple ’s Siri and the forthcoming Google Assistant , to collect data on children under the age of 13 without their informed consent could be liable for “ millions of dollars ” in fines , according to a new investigation on children ’s digital privacy . Lawyers behind the Children 's Online Privacy Protection Act , or COPPA say children “ need to know what 's being collected , how it will be used , they need to be provided with real informed consent to begin with ” . For Kathryn Montgomery, a communications professor and a co-writer of COPPA, the potential psychological impacts of data collection on children are worrisome. " They claim digital data from artificial intelligence ( AI ) companies is being used by advertisers to blatantly target youngsters . Education technology companies have also come under fire for selling children ’s data , while a report revealed Apple and Google have also sold children ’s data .
Companies using virtual assistants , such as Amazon ’s Alexa , Apple ’s Siri and the forthcoming Google Assistant , to collect data on children under the age of 13 without their informed consent could be liable for “ millions of dollars ” in fines , according to a new investigation on children ’s digital privacy . Lawyers behind the Children 's Online Privacy Protection Act , or COPPA say children “ need to know what 's being collected , how it will be used , they need to be provided with real informed consent to begin with ” . They claim digital data from artificial intelligence ( AI ) companies is being used by advertisers to blatantly target youngsters . Education technology companies have also come under fire for selling children ’s data , while a report revealed Apple and Google have also sold children ’s data .