Penalty Amount
$3,000,000
The FTC settled with Kuuhuub Inc., operator of the Recolor coloring book app, for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The app's social media features allowed children to register and share data, and third-party ad networks collected persistent identifiers for targeted ads. The settlement requires deletion of children's data, refunds to underage subscribers, a $3 million penalty (suspended upon $100,000 payment), and user notifications about the violations.
The companies must delete all personal information collected from children under 13 unless parental consent is obtained, offer refunds to current paid subscribers who were under 18 at sign-up, pay a $3 million monetary penalty (suspended upon payment of $100,000), and notify app users about the COPPA violations and steps to take.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving the Recolor app or similar child-directed services, including vendor contracts with third-party ad networks, customer-facing terms of service and privacy policies, and any data processing agreements. Focus on clauses governing data collection from minors, consent mechanisms (especially verifiable parental consent), third-party data sharing and advertising integrations, data retention and deletion policies, and age-screening procedures. Updates may be needed to ensure robust parental consent workflows, restrict collection of personal information from users under 13, audit and restrict third-party ad network data practices, implement clear children's privacy notices, and establish automatic data deletion protocols for underage users to comply with COPPA.
Entity
Kuuhuub Inc.
Also known as: Kuuhuub
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/07/online-coloring-book-app-recolor-settles-ftc-allegations-it-illegally-collected-kids-personal
1823184recolorcomplaint
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/1823184recolorcomplaint.pdf
1823184recolorstipulatedorder
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/1823184recolorstipulatedorder.pdf
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Kuuhuub Inc."
"$3 million monetary penalty"
"Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule)"
"collecting personal information from children under the age of 13"
"failed to provide notice to parents"
"failed to obtain verifiable parental consent"
$750K
The FTC finalized an order against Vanilla Chip LLC (doing business as TruHeight) and its principals for deceptively advertising height-enhancing supplements for children and teens without scientific evidence. The company also used fake reviews and incentivized 5-star ratings. The order requires a $750,000 payment and prohibits false health claims and deceptive review practices.
$2.3M
The FTC alleged that RentGrow, a tenant screening company, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, including by reporting duplicate records and failing to disclose data sources. RentGrow agreed to pay a $2.25 million penalty and is prohibited from further FCRA violations and from misrepresenting dispute outcomes.
The FTC and New York Attorney General took action against Handy Technologies for deceptive earnings claims and failure to disclose fees and fines that led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers' wages. The FTC is sending over $2.7 million in refunds to 62,893 affected consumers.
$35.0M
The FTC alleged that Hopper, a travel booking app, charged consumers hidden and pre-selected fees (Tip and VIP Support) without their consent, misrepresented the benefits of VIP Support and Price Freeze services, and failed to clearly disclose total prices. Hopper agreed to pay $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees under a proposed order.
$1.5M
The FTC finalized a settlement with Publishing.com LLC and its principals for misleading consumers about potential earnings from self-publishing products. The company will pay $1.5 million and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated earnings claims, failing to disclose refund terms, and misrepresenting endorsements and reviews.
The FTC is seeking public comment on a proposed policy statement addressing concerns that AI companies may be manipulating AI system outputs contrary to consumer expectations for objectivity and accuracy. The statement explains that such conduct could be considered deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The public comment period runs until July 31, 2026.