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ARTICLE · 17 AUGUST 2020

Tracking Kids Through Your App? Think Again.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Klepto Cats and Dogs have been "stealing" children's personal information without parental consent and using it for targeted advertising.

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Elana Safner
Elana Safner
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Klepto Cats and Dogs have been "stealing" children's personal information without parental consent and using it for targeted advertising. Bad dog! Well, almost. HyperBeard, Inc., a developer of apps popular with children under 13 years old - including games like BunnyBuns, Chichens, MonkeyNauts, NomNoms, KleptoCats, and KleptoDogs - is in trouble with the FTC for alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Rule ("COPPA Rule").

According to the Complaint, HyperBeard allowed third-party ad networks to collect personal information in the form of persistent identifiers to track users of its games, and then used that information to target ads to children, without first notifying parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent. Although targeted advertising powers free content across the web, the FTC's COPPA Rule prohibits child-directed websites, apps, and online services from collecting personal information from children under 13, including the

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