Skip to main content

Broken Thumb Apps pays out $50k to FTC for violating children’s privacy

ars duck huntBroken Thumb Apps’ parent company W3 Innovations has been forced to pay out $50,000 in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. W3 was charged with illegally collecting personal information from children. This marks the first FTC case involving mobile applications.

Broken Thumbs Apps is an iOS app maker with many games under it’s belt including Zombie Duck Hunt, Truth or Dare and Cootie Catcher. Most noteworthy are the Emily games such as Emily’s Girl World and Emily’s Dress Up as they were marketed towards children in the Apple App Store.

Recommended Videos

50,000 downloads later, the FTC found that W3 was encouraging children to independently enter personal data through these targeted games. Along with inputting names to play games, the Emily apps asked children to email “Emily” comments on the Emily blog. The complaint says that W3 collected thousands of email addresses from children.

The actions are apparently in violation of the FTC’s Children’s Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a rule that bans the collection of data from young children without a parents knowledge and consent beforehand. The app company didn’t notify parents and didn’t provide a clear privacy policy.

“The FTC’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a website or a mobile app,” said Chariman Jon Leibowitz. “Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when it comes to their children’s sharing of information on smart phones.”

The complaint was filed in San Jose, California on August 12, four days later W3 folded for the 50k settlement. In addition to the fine, W3 is on notice for any future COPPA violations and the company is required to delete all the violating data gathered from these trusting children.

Jeff Hughes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.
Mario Kart World Direct: When and where to watch
Baby Peach rides away from a T-rex in Mario Kart World.

If you're itching for more information about Mario Kart World, we've got great news: Nintendo is holding an official Mario Kart World Direct tomorrow at 9 AM ET, 6 AM PT. The Direct will last for 15 minutes and provide more details and information on what to expect from the game.

You can watch a live stream of the Direct on YouTube, but you'll also be able to stream the Direct through the Nintendo Today app. No need to glue yourself to a computer if you're on the go.

Read more
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a good reminder that 2D games still rule
A pair of eyes appears in the sky in Ninja Gaiden Ragebound.

Ninja Gaiden is back with a vengeance. Last month, Koei Tecmo surprise released Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an Unreal Engine 5 remake of an Xbox 360 classic. It’ll follow up on that later this year with Ninja Gaiden 4, the first original game in the series in over a decade. That would be a busy year for any franchise, let alone a long formant one returning to form, but it isn’t stopping there. This year will also bring Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a 2D spin on the series from the retro masters at Dotemu and The Game Kitchen.

It’s a perfect series for that kind of treatment. After all, Ninja Gaiden began its life in arcades and on the NES as an old school beat-em-up. Can that formula still resonate with modern audiences who know the series more for its beloved 3D installments that defined the Xbox 360 generation? Based on my first hands-on demo, which toured me through a handful of Ragebound’s levels over an hour, Dotemu is cooking up another polished retro revival that isn’t just out to cash in on nostalgia. It’s a return to a classic genre that was neither broke, nor in need of fixing.

Read more
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s hardcore mode is out now and it’s no joke
Horsemen ride down a hill in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

If Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 isn't Souls-like enough for you, the new Hardcore Mode update will correct that. The update is now live, and the new mode ramps the difficulty up to roughly that of trying to survive the Bubonic Plague era on an immunosuppressant. It's been part of the roadmap for a long time, but players are just getting to experience what the mode actually means.

It's intended to make gameplay more immersive by shutting off conveniences like fast travel, your own location on the map, or even directions to your next quest. In other words, if you want to know where to go and what to do next, you'd better pay attention to what you're told. The patch notes read, "Hardcore Mode is here — and it's not for the faint of heart."

Read more