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In a third update to the data breach of 6.5 million kids’ information and 5 million parents’ information, VTech Holdings Ltd. (VTech) is facing backlash from plaintiffs’ attorneys and regulators.
First, VTech Electronics North America LLC was hit with the now usual class action suits following a data breach–two so far–filed in the Northern District of Illinois. The suits allege that the toy company failed to safeguard sensitive information of millions of American children and their parents. The information compromised included parent names and email addresses, security questions, and children’s names, genders, birth dates and profile pictures.
The suits seek damages caused by the disclosure of the information and for the over payment of the products.
But that’s not all.
Following the notification, VTech is being investigated so far by the Attorneys General of Connecticut and Illinois, the Privacy Commissioner in Hong Kong, and due to the fact that the breach included minor personal information, it is anticipated that other AGs and the Federal Trade Commission will investigate under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which regulates what companies can do to market to kids and what minor information can be collected and shared with others. COPPA includes statutory damages of up to $16,000 per violation.
It will be interesting to see the fallout of these investigations due to the nature of the data involved and the fact that it includes kids’ data as they are one of the most vulnerable, sympathetic and protected classes that exists.
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