FTC v. Amazon (Alexa)
FTC v. Amazon (Alexa) — $25M COPPA + Alexa Voice Recording Settlement
FTC · United States v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 2:23-cv-00811 (W.D. Wash. July 25, 2023)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- July 19, 2023
- Applies to
- Amazon.com, Inc.
Companion FTC action settled with Amazon's Alexa division for $25M in 2023, alleging Amazon retained children's voice recordings indefinitely despite COPPA, deleted records when parents requested but kept transcripts and the underlying voice models, and used the data to train Alexa's voice-recognition AI.
Who is protected: Children using Alexa (and parents) under COPPA
Legal detail
United States v. Amazon.com, Inc. (Alexa), No. 2:23-cv-00811 (W.D. Wash., consent order July 25, 2023). COPPA + FTC Act § 5 violations. $25M civil penalty; conduct relief: delete inactive children's accounts' voice recordings and transcripts; delete geolocation data; delete neural-net models trained on those voice recordings; ongoing privacy program.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | FTC |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Citation | United States v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 2:23-cv-00811 (W.D. Wash. July 25, 2023) |
| Topics | children's online safety · consumer data privacy · biometric data · consumer protection |
| Agency page | FTC + DOJ Charge Amazon with Children's Privacy Violations — FTC press release |
More AI rules in FTC
- FTC v. Rite Aid · In effect
- FTC v. Amazon (Ring) · In effect
- FTC v. NGL Labs · In effect
- FTC v. DoNotPay · In effect
- FTC v. Rytr · Repealed / replaced
- FTC Operation AI Comply (Sept. 2024) · In effect
Related children's online safety rules elsewhere
- PA v. Character.AI (Fake Psychiatrist Chatbot) · Blocked / in litigation
- RI AI Companion Self-Harm Safety (2026) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act (KIDS Act) (H.R. 7757) · Proposed / pending
- Oregon SB 1546 (AI companion chatbot disclosure + private right of action) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- xAI v. Harwood (Grok NCII Counter-Suit 2026) · Blocked / in litigation
- Blanchester OH schools AI policy EDEC (Jun. 29, 2026) · In effect
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