The free TV company briefly wasn’t sure what it should do with data from kids

When we pushed the website live on Monday morning at 4:00 AM pacific an old draft version of the privacy policy was uploaded. The correct and final version exists on the app today as it has since launch that everyone can see and download as they complete their registration.

The questions raised in the document between our developer team and our privacy legal counsel appear a bit out of context. The issue raised was a two-part technical question related to timing and whether or not it was even possible for us to be in possession of this kind of data.  

The team was unclear about how much time we had to delete any data we may inadvertently capture on children under 13. The term “quickly as possible” that was included in the draft language seemed vague and undetermined and needed further clarification from a technical perspective.

Second, and more on point, our developer team also did not believe it was possible that we would actually ever be in a position to capture personal data on those under 13 since the data we collect at the beginning of the process is shared transparently by adults only over the age of 18 who sign up. Minors are not allowed to register.   

Because all of the data we collect in our survey (data about brands people like, favorite sports teams household demographics, etc.) is self reported, unlike other TV manufacturers that utilizes third party services to append personal data to the household without compensating the consumer, it was believed the entire section was likely not accurate and we should be able to find another way to address it more clearly.