Microsoft Fined $20 Million for Illegally Collecting Children's Data on Xbox.

Microsoft has agreed to pay a $20 million penalty to settle charges by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it illegally collected and retained data of children who signed up to use its Xbox video game console without their parents' knowledge or consent. The company has been ordered to update its account creation process for children to prevent the collection and storage of data, including obtaining parental consent and deleting said information within two weeks if approval is not obtained. The privacy protections also extend to third-party gaming publishers with whom Microsoft shares children's data, in addition to subjecting biometric information and avatars created from a children's faces to the privacy laws.