Court Rules
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SettlementMedium Risk

NY AG Settles Saturn for $650K Over Minor Privacy Violations

Saturn TechnologiesMarch 7, 2025New York Attorney General

Penalty Amount

$650,000

Summary

New York Attorney General Letitia James settled with Saturn Technologies, developer of the Saturn social networking app for high school students, over failures to protect young users’ privacy. The Office of the Attorney General found the company disabled required email verification for thousands of schools, used inadequate age and identity checks, retained user contact data after access was revoked, and failed to maintain proper privacy records. Saturn will pay $650,000 in penalties and implement enhanced privacy protections for minor users, including mandatory bi-annual privacy setting reviews and data deletion requirements.

Remedy

Saturn Technologies must pay $650,000 in penalties ($200,000 immediately, $450,000 suspended pending compliance with settlement terms). The company must notify current users of verification changes, provide enhanced privacy options for users under 18 including bi-annual privacy setting review prompts, delete retained copies of user contact books, limit visibility of non-user student data, allow teachers to block their personal information from the app, hide personal data of users under 18 until informed consent is obtained, and refrain from making unsubstantiated user safety or verification claims. Saturn must also implement a compliance program to adhere to these terms and maintain proper records related to data privacy and user verification.

Monetary PenaltyInjunctionCompliance ProgramData DeletionCorrective Notice

Contract Impact

In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements involving apps or services targeting minors to ensure robust age and identity verification requirements are included, with explicit consent for data collection and processing. Contracts should mandate notice to users of any material changes to verification or privacy practices, prohibit retention of user data (e.g., contact books) after access is revoked, and require compliance with record-keeping standards for data privacy and permissions. For vendors serving minors, clauses should require bi-annual privacy setting prompts for users under 18, enhanced privacy defaults for minors, and explicit prohibitions on unsubstantiated safety claims. Additionally, contracts should specify data deletion requirements for retained user data upon revocation of consent or termination of the agreement.

Contract Search Terms

age verificationchildren's data processingminor user consentcontact book data retentionuser verification methodsnotice of privacy changesrevocation of data accessdata retention requirements

Violation Types

Entity Details

Entity

Saturn Technologies

Also known as: Saturn

Industry

Social Media

Official Sources

Source Evidence

Entity Name
"announced a settlement with Saturn Technologies"
Fine Amount
"Saturn Technologies must pay $650,000 in penalties"
Event Date
"March 7, 2025"
Jurisdiction
"New York Attorney General Letitia James"
Event Type
"announced a settlement with Saturn Technologies"
Violation Types
"failed to protect young users’ privacy"

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