1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 

8 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Case No. 

9 

Plaintiff, COMPLAINT FOR PERMANENT 

10 v. INJUNCTION, CIVIL PENALTIES, 

AND OTHER RELIEF 

11 AMAZON.COM, INC., a corporation, and 

12 AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC, a 

limited liability company, 

13 

Defendants. 

14 

15 Plaintiff, the United States of America, acting upon notification and authorization to the 

16 Attorney General by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”), for its 

17 Complaint alleges: 

18 1. Plaintiff brings this action under Sections 5(a)(1), 5(m)(1)(A), 13(b), and 16(a) of 

19 the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 45(a)(1), 45(m)(1)(A), 53(b), and 

20 56(a); and Sections 1303(c) and 1306(d) of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 

21 (“COPPA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 6502(c) and 6505(d), to obtain monetary civil penalties, a permanent 

22 injunction, and other equitable relief for violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act and the 

23 Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (the “Rule” or the “COPPA Rule”), 

24 16 C.F.R. Part 312, by Defendants Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC (together 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 1 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 1 of 17 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 2 of 17 

“Amazon” or “Defendants”). 

SUMMARY OF THE CASE 

2. Using Amazon’s voice assistant service, Alexa, millions of Americans use 

Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and the Alexa mobile application (“Alexa App”) to access a wide 

range of products and services, for example, to play music, audiobooks, or audio content from 

the internet; order products from the Amazon.com website; or instruct a smart TV to stream 

programming. These products include voice activated services aimed at children under 13 years 

old, including the Echo Dot Kids smart speaker; “FreeTime on Alexa,” a personalized service 

that allows parents to control how their child accesses and uses Alexa; and “FreeTime Unlimited 

on Alexa,” which offers children’s audio books and audio-based Alexa applications such as 

voice-controlled games, stories, jokes, and educational tools. More than 800,000 children under 

13 years old have their own Alexa profiles. These profiles link to a parent’s profile and include 

the child’s name, birth date, and gender. 

3. A child (or adult) activates Amazon’s smart speaker by simply saying “Alexa,” 

followed by the substance of the request, for example, “what time is it?” or “tell me a joke.” 

Alexa saves the voice recording of the request and creates a written transcript. Alexa’s default 

settings save these voice recordings and transcripts indefinitely, even if the user stops using the 

account for months or even years. This is true for both child and adult users. Amazon uses the 

voice recordings and transcripts it saves not only to fulfill that adult’s or child’s request to Alexa, 

but also to train and improve the Alexa product for all users. 

4. Similarly, a user of the Alexa App is prompted to give Alexa access to the 

geolocation of the user’s device, ostensibly to respond more accurately to user requests based on 

where the mobile device is located. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 2 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 3 of 17 

5. Amazon’s privacy disclosures assert that it designed Alexa with privacy in mind, 

that Amazon will delete users’ voice and geolocation data (and children’s voice data) upon 

request, and that Amazon carefully limits access to voice data. But until September 2019, 

Amazon retained children’s voice recordings and transcripts indefinitely unless a parent actively 

deleted them. Alexa’s default settings still save children’s (and adults’) voice recordings and 

transcripts forever, even when a child no longer uses his Alexa profile and it has been inactive 

for years. As a result, Amazon has retained the personal information of thousands of children 

who are not even using their Alexa accounts, in violation of COPPA’s prohibition on retaining 

children’s personal information longer than is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for 

which the information is collected. 

6. Amazon also failed for a significant period of time to honor parents’ requests that 

it delete their children’s voice recordings by continuing to retain the transcripts of those 

recordings and failing to disclose that it was doing so, also in violation of COPPA. Finally, 

Amazon failed to delete users’ voice information and geolocation information upon request and 

instead retained that data for its own potential use. Such unfair and deceptive practices violate 

Section 5 of the FTC Act. 

JURISDICTION AND VENUE 

7. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337(a), 

1345. 

8. Venue in the Western District of Washington is proper under 15 U.S.C. § 53(b) 

and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(1), (b)(2), (c)(2) and (d). 

DEFENDANTS 

9. Defendant Amazon.com, Inc. is a Delaware corporation, with its principal place 

of business at 410 Terry Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98109. Amazon.com, Inc. is a U.S. public 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 3 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 4 of 17 

holding company that conducts its business through subsidiaries, including Defendant 

Amazon.com Services LLC (collectively, “Amazon”). 

10. Amazon.com, Inc. transacts or has transacted business in this District and 

throughout the United States. 

11. Defendant Amazon.com Services LLC (“Amazon.com Services”) is a Delaware 

corporation, with its principal place of business at 410 Terry Avenue, Seattle, Washington 

98109. Amazon.com Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. that provides 

services related to the processing of Alexa voice and location data to Amazon.com, Inc. 

Amazon.com Services transacts or has transacted business in this District and throughout the 

United States. 

12. At all times material to this Complaint, acting alone or in concert with others, 

Amazon has advertised, marketed, distributed, or sold voice-enabled smart speakers, including 

smart speakers directed to children under 13 years of age, and related mobile applications to 

consumers throughout the United States. 

COMMERCE 

13. At all times material to this Complaint, Defendants have maintained a substantial 

course of trade in or affecting commerce, as “commerce” is defined in Section 4 of the FTC Act, 

15 U.S.C. § 44. 

AMAZON’S BUSINESS PRACTICES 

14. Amazon is a multinational technology company with more than 1.4 million 

employees and annual revenues exceeding $380 billion. 

15. Since 2014, Amazon has developed, manufactured, and sold Internet-connected 

speakers, branded as Amazon “Echo” devices, controlled by Amazon’s proprietary cloud-based 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 4 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 5 of 17 

voice assistant service, Alexa. To date, Amazon has sold well over 100 million Echo devices 

globally, earning billions of dollars in revenue from sales of these devices and related services. 

16. Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo devices listen for and respond to users’ oral 

requests. When an Echo detects someone saying the device’s “wake” word (usually, “Alexa,” 

“Amazon,” “Echo,” or “Computer”), Alexa begins recording what it hears in two formats: an 

audio file and a text file. Alexa then responds to the request by, for example, playing music, 

setting alarms, providing information, remembering facts, making to-do lists, streaming 

podcasts, or buying products. 

17. Users can also interact with their Echo devices through Amazon’s free Alexa 

mobile application. The Alexa App allows a user to set up Echo devices and perform other 

functions, such as establishing settings for Alexa and obtaining weather and news updates. Users 

of the Alexa App are prompted to enable location services that allow the app to collect users’ 

geolocation information so that it can provide location-based information, such as local weather 

or nearby restaurants. 

18. Amazon’s policies recognize that privacy is an important consideration for many 

Alexa users and Echo purchasers, touting privacy as a core feature of Alexa and Echo devices. 

For example, Amazon maintains a dedicated “Alexa Privacy” webpage within its online “Alexa 

Privacy Hub” on the Amazon.com website that asserts: “Alexa and Echo devices are designed to 

protect your privacy.” That webpage also states that “Alexa and Echo devices provide 

transparency and control.” Similarly, the Alexa Privacy Settings webpage tells users: “You have 

control over your Alexa experience” and provides an option to “[v]iew, hear, and delete your 

voice recordings.” 

Alexa Collects Sensitive Data from Children 

19. Alexa collects voice data from both adults and children under the age of 13. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 5 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 6 of 17 

20. In May 2018, Amazon launched several Alexa-enabled offerings designed 

specifically for children: (1) a smart speaker called the “Echo Dot Kids Edition,” which cost 

approximately $70; (2) a free personalized service called “FreeTime on Alexa,” which enables 

parents to control the content their children can access through Alexa and how their children can 

use compatible Echo devices; and (3) a paid content subscription service (ranging from $2.99 per 

month to $99 per year) called “FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa,” which provides access to childoriented audio books, character alarms, and “kid skills” (i.e., audio-based Alexa applications 

such as voice-controlled games, stories, jokes, and educational tools). A one-year subscription to 

FreeTime Unlimited has been included with the purchase of an Echo Dot Kids Edition. 

21. To use these products, a parent creates a profile for their child that links to the 

parent’s profile and contains the child’s name, birth date, and gender. More than 800,000 

children interact directly with Alexa using their own Amazon profile. Amazon saves children’s 

voice recordings as audio and text files and uses persistent identifiers to connect these audio and 

text files to the child’s Amazon profile. In addition, through a feature initially called “Remember 

This” and then called “Notes,” Amazon saves various “memories”—i.e., content that children 

may instruct Alexa to remember. 

22. Children’s unique speech patterns and accents differ from adults, and their voice 

recordings provide Amazon with a valuable data bank for training the Alexa algorithm to 

understand children. 

Amazon’s Default Settings Retain Children’s Voice Recordings Indefinitely 

23. Since launching its first Echo smart speaker, Amazon has set its default settings to 

retain users’ voice recordings indefinitely. Until September 2019, a parent who sought to delete 

their child’s voice recordings had to navigate Amazon’s online deletion options or contact 

Amazon customer service. Starting in September 2019, two months after receiving an initial 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 6 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 7 of 17 

Civil Investigative Demand from the FTC, Amazon offered a new feature that allowed users to 

auto-delete voice recordings at regular intervals of three- or eighteen-months, while still 

retaining the indefinite retention default setting. 

24. Amazon claims that it retains children’s voice recordings in perpetuity for three 

reasons: to respond to children’s voice commands; to enable parents to review their children’s 

old voice recordings; and to improve Alexa’s speech recognition and processing capabilities. 

25. For Alexa to recognize and process a child’s voice request, it is not reasonably 

necessary to retain that child’s voice recordings forever. Amazon only needs to retain a voice 

recording for a few seconds to respond to the request that the child has just made. While parents 

may wish to review and supervise their child’s interactions with Alexa by accessing the stored 

recordings, storing those recordings forever is not reasonably necessary for that purpose either. 

Nor is the indefinite retention of children’s voice recordings reasonably necessary for Amazon to 

continue improving Alexa’s speech recognition and processing capabilities. 

Amazon Misled Alexa Users About Their Ability 

to Delete Voice Recordings Collected by Alexa 

26. Amazon has told parents whose children use the Echo Dot Kids Edition, 

FreeTime on Alexa, and FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa that they can delete their child’s personal 

information at any time. Amazon specifically assures parents that they can exercise control over 

their children’s voice recordings. It provides a “Children’s Privacy Disclosure” to every parent 

who sets up a child account, directing parents interested in deletion to contact Amazon’s 

customer service or to visit the “Manage Parental Consent” page on Amazon’s website. That 

page directs parents to the Alexa Privacy Settings webpage and Frequently Asked Questions 

webpage. 

// 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 7 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 8 of 17 

27. The Alexa Privacy Settings webpage tells consumers (including parents) that they 

can “[v]iew, hear, and delete [their] voice recordings...at any time.” The instructions state that 

Alexa users “have control over all of [their] voice recordings” and can delete their voice 

recordings “one by one, all at once, or by enabling auto-delete at any time.” Amazon’s 

Frequently Asked Questions reinforce this assertion. 

28. However, until mid-2019, Amazon’s practice was to delete the requested voice 

recordings but keep written transcripts of those recordings. Specifically, when users requested 

deletion of their voice recordings, or when parents used the Alexa Privacy Hub or the Alexa App 

to delete their children’s voice recordings, Alexa deleted the voice recordings but retained 

written transcripts of those recordings in residual data stores. Those transcripts remained 

available for Amazon’s benefit and use for product improvement. But Amazon did not alert the 

user or parent that Amazon was keeping the written transcripts and continuing to use them for 

product improvement. In fact, when the user selected “delete recording,” the “play” button for 

the recording and the written text disappeared, suggesting that both the audio and text files had 

been deleted. Accordingly, in many instances Amazon kept users’ or children’s written 

transcripts after users or parents requested deletion of the voice recordings associated with those 

transcripts and did not inform Alexa users or parents that it had done so. Amazon used children’s 

recordings—both audio files and transcripts—for purposes such as refining Alexa’s voice 

recognition and natural language processing capabilities. 

29. Additionally, between August 2018 and September 2019, Amazon Alexa users’ 

voice recordings were accessible to 30,000 of its employees—approximately 15,000 of whom 

lacked any business need for such access. Indeed, many of these employees did not even work on 

Alexa-enabled products. This overbroad grant of access violated Amazon’s own “least 

permission” policies, which prohibit granting access to sensitive data beyond what is needed for 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 8 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 9 of 17 

a particular job function. 

Amazon Misled Alexa App Users About Their 

Ability to Delete Geolocation Information 

30. The Alexa App purportedly allows users to control Amazon’s collection, use, and 

storage of their geolocation information. Amazon also tells users that they can delete their 

geolocation information at any time using its “Manage Your Content and Devices” feature. 

31. But Amazon did not delete all of the geolocation information of Alexa App users 

who requested it. Amazon itself determined that on many occasions between January 2018 and 

early 2022, Amazon retained Alexa App users’ geolocation information in secondary data 

storage locations that were insulated from consumers’ deletion requests. Amazon employees 

regularly used data in these locations to improve Alexa. Amazon repeatedly “discovered” this 

problem yet failed to correct it. Specifically, Amazon first discovered the issue in February 2018, 

erroneously treated it as “corrected” in October 2018, discovered in April 2019 that it had not 

actually been corrected, and finally took corrective action in September 2019. Even then, 

however, Amazon discovered additional deletion errors preventing the deletion of Alexa App 

users’ geolocation information according to users’ requests in September 2019, August 2020, 

September 2020, February 2021, and early 2022. As a result of these repeated failures, Amazon 

continued to store some Alexa App users’ geolocation information contrary to their deletion 

requests into early 2022. To date, Amazon has never informed Alexa App users that it retained 

geolocation data that they tried to delete. 

Amazon’s Privacy Practices Are Unfair 

32. Amazon has engaged in several unreasonable privacy practices related to its 

storage of Alexa users’ sensitive geolocation and voice information, including children’s voice 

information, including: 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 9 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 10 of 17 

a. Failing to ensure that children’s voice recordings are retained for no longer than 

reasonably necessary; 

b. Collecting and maintaining sensitive geolocation data in a manner and location 

that insulated that information from users’ deletion requests and allowed Amazon 

to access that data for product improvement; 

c. Failing to ensure that deletion requests related to users’ geolocation and voice 

recordings are honored and that system-based failures to honor such requests do 

not recur; and 

d. Failing to notify consumers that Amazon had not satisfied their requests to delete 

their or their children’s geolocation information or voice recordings. 

33. These practices caused, or were likely to cause, substantial injury to consumers 

that they could not reasonably avoid. As one of the largest companies in the world, consumers 

reasonably rely on Amazon’s representations that its Alexa and Echo devices “are designed to 

protect your privacy” and “provide transparency and control” (emphasis in original). Consumers 

are also entitled to trust that when they ask Amazon to delete their or their children’s voice 

recordings or geolocation information, it will do so. 

34. When Amazon fails to fulfill its promises, retains users’ or children’s voice or 

geolocation information that users have expressly asked to be deleted, and allows Amazon’s 

employees access to that information, users suffer injuries to their privacy due to the 

unauthorized use of their information. Further, Amazon’s unlawful retention of consumers’ 

sensitive personal information increased the likelihood of additional substantial injury to 

consumers through, for example, unnecessary employee access to consumers’ voice recordings. 

Consumers cannot avoid such injuries, as they have no way of determining whether Amazon has 

fully satisfied their deletion requests, and Amazon has not notified them when it failed to do so. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 10 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 11 of 17 

35. Based on the foregoing, the United States has reason to believe that Amazon has 

violated and will continue to violate the FTC Act and the COPPA statute and rule. 

VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 5 OF THE FTC ACT 

36. Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts 

or practices in or affecting commerce.” 

37. Misrepresentations or deceptive omissions of material fact constitute deceptive 

acts or practices prohibited by Section 5(a) of the FTC Act. 

38. Acts or practices are unfair under Section 5 of the FTC Act if they cause or are 

likely to cause substantial injury to consumers that consumers cannot reasonably avoid 

themselves and that is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition. 

15 U.S.C. § 45(n). 

Count I 

Deception – Amazon Falsely Represented That Alexa App 

Users Could Delete Their Geolocation Information 

39. Paragraphs 1 through 38 are incorporated as if set forth herein. 

40. In connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion, offering for sale, or sale 

of Alexa-enabled devices and applications, Amazon regularly represents that Alexa App users 

may delete the geolocation information that Amazon has collected and stored from them. 

41. Notwithstanding Amazon’s representations, in numerous instances, Alexa App 

users requested that Amazon delete their geolocation information but Amazon failed to do so. 

42. Amazon’s representations that it would delete users’ geolocation information at 

their request were false and misleading and constitute deceptive acts or practices in violation of 

Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). 

// 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 11 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 12 of 17 

Count II 

Deception – Amazon Falsely Represented that Alexa Users 

Could Delete Their or Their Child’s Voice Recordings 

43. Paragraphs 1 through 38 are incorporated as if set forth herein. 

44. In connection with the advertising, marketing, promotion, offering for sale, or sale 

of Alexa-enabled devices and applications, Amazon regularly represents that Alexa App users or 

parents can delete their own or their children’s voice recordings, implicitly including all audio 

files and transcripts. 

45. In fact, in numerous instances, Alexa users requested that Amazon delete their 

own or their children’s voice recordings, but Amazon failed to do so. 

46. Amazon’s representations that it would delete the voice recordings of users or 

their children were false and misleading and constitute deceptive acts or practices in violation of 

Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). 

Count III 

Unfair Privacy Practices 

47. Paragraphs 1 through 38 are incorporated as if set forth herein. 

48. In numerous instances as described in Paragraph 32, Amazon failed to take 

reasonable steps to protect the privacy of Alexa users’ geolocation and voice recordings. 

49. Amazon’s actions and omissions caused or are likely to cause substantial injury to 

consumers that consumers cannot reasonably avoid themselves and that is not outweighed by 

countervailing benefits to consumers or competition. 

50. Therefore, Amazon’s acts or practices as set forth in Paragraph 32 constitute 

unfair acts or practices in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), (n). 

// 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 12 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 13 of 17 

VIOLATIONS OF THE CHILDREN’S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT RULE 

51. Congress enacted COPPA in 1998 to protect the safety and privacy of children 

online by prohibiting the unauthorized or unnecessary collection of children’s personal 

information online by operators of Internet Web sites and online services. COPPA directed the 

Commission to promulgate a rule implementing COPPA. The Commission promulgated the 

COPPA Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 312, on November 3, 1999, under Section 1303(b) of COPPA, 

15 U.S.C. § 6502(b), and Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553. The 

Rule went into effect on April 21, 2000. The Commission promulgated revisions to the Rule that 

went into effect on July 1, 2013. Pursuant to Section 1303(c) of COPPA, 15 U.S.C. § 6502(c), 

and Section 18(d)(3) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57(a)(d)(3), a violation of the Rule constitutes 

an unfair or deceptive act or practice in or affecting commerce, in violation of Section 5(a) of the 

FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). 

52. The Rule applies to any operator of a commercial website or online service 

directed to children under 13 years of age (which includes operators of online services with 

actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information directly from users of another 

Web site or online service directed to children), or any operator that has actual knowledge that it 

is collecting or maintaining personal information from a child under 13 years of age. 16 C.F.R. 

§ 312.3. The definition of “personal information” includes, among other things, a “first and last 

name,” a “persistent identifier that can be used to recognize a user over time and across different 

Web sites or online services,” such as a “customer number held in a cookie, an Internet Protocol 

(IP) address, a processor or device serial number, or unique device identifier,” an “audio file 

where such file contains a child’s...voice,” and “[i]nformation concerning the child or 

the parents of that child that the operator collects online from the child and combines with an 

identifier described in this definition.” 16 C.F.R. § 312.2. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 13 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 14 of 17 

53. Among other things, the Rule requires subject operators to meet specific 

requirements related to collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children, 

including but not limited to: 

a. Providing a notice on their website or online service that, along with other 

required content, states parents may have deleted their child’s personal 

information, and the procedures for doing so (16 C.F.R. § 312.4(d)(3))— 

which notice must be clearly and understandably written, complete, and must 

contain no unrelated, confusing, or contradictory materials (16 C.F.R. 

§ 312.4(a)); 

b. Providing the parent with the opportunity at any time to delete the child’s 

personal information (16 C.F.R. § 312.6(a)(2)); and 

c. Retaining personal information collected from children online only as long as 

is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which the information was 

collected (16 C.F.R. § 312.10). 

54. Amazon is an “operator” subject to the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.2. Amazon 

operates the online services Echo Dot Kids Edition with FreeTime on Alexa and FreeTime 

Unlimited, both of which are directed to children under 13. Through the Echo Dot Kids Edition 

with FreeTime on Alexa and/or FreeTime Unlimited, Amazon collects personal information as 

defined in the COPPA Rule from children under 13, including voice recordings and transcripts 

concerning the child combined with a persistent identifier. 

Count IV 

COPPA – Amazon Failed to Provide Complete, Truthful Notice to Parents, Failed to Give 

Parents an Effective Opportunity to Delete Children’s Voice Recordings 

and Retained Children’s Voice Recordings Indefinitely 

55. Paragraphs 1 through 38 are incorporated as if set forth herein. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 14 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 15 of 17 

56. In numerous instances, in connection with the acts and practices described above, 

Defendants collected, used, and/or disclosed personal information from children in violation of 

the Rule, including by: 

a. Retaining children’s voice recordings for longer than reasonably necessary to 

fulfill the purpose for which the information was collected, in violation of 

Section 312.10 of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.10; 

b. Failing to provide parents with complete and truthful notice regarding parents’ 

ability to have their children’s personal information deleted, in violation of 

Section 312.4 of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. §§ 312.4(a), 312.4(d)(3); and 

c. Failing, when parents requested to delete their children’s voice recordings, to 

also delete the written transcripts of those voice recordings, in violation of 

Section 312.6(a)(2) of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.6(a)(2). 

57. Pursuant to Section 1303(c) of COPPA, 15 U.S.C. § 6502(c), and Section 

18(d)(3) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a(d)(3), a violation of the Rule constitutes an unfair or 

deceptive act or practice in or affecting commerce, in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 

15 U.S.C. § 45(a). 

CONSUMER INJURY 

58. Consumers are suffering, have suffered, and will continue to suffer substantial 

injury as a result of Amazon’s violations of the FTC Act and the COPPA Rule. Absent injunctive 

relief by this Court, Amazon is likely to continue to injure consumers and harm the public 

interest. 

PRAYER FOR RELIEF 

59. Wherefore, Plaintiff requests that the Court: 

a. Enter a permanent injunction to prevent future violations of the FTC Act 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 15 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
 

 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 16 of 17 

and the COPPA Rule by Amazon; 

b. Award Plaintiff monetary civil penalties from Amazon for each violation 

of the COPPA Rule alleged in this Complaint; and 

c. Award any additional relief as the Court may determine to be just and 

proper. 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 16 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970 
 

 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Case 2:23-cv-00811 Document 1 Filed 05/31/23 Page 17 of 17 

Dated: May 31, 2023_________ 

FOR PLAINTIFF THE UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA 

BRIAN M. BOYNTON 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General 

Civil Division 

ARUN G. RAO 

Deputy Assistant Attorney General 

AMANDA LISKAMM 

Director 

Consumer Protection Branch 

LISA K. HSIAO 

Assistant Director 

By: 

s/ Rachael L. Doud 

RACHAEL L. DOUD 

Assistant Director 

JAMES T. NELSON 

Senior Trial Attorney

Consumer Protection Branch 

U.S. Department of Justice 

P.O. Box 386 

Washington, D.C. 20044

(202) 305-4499 

s/ Kayla C. Stahman 

KAYLA C. STAHMAN, CA #228931 

Assistant United States Attorneys 

United States Attorney’s Office 

700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220 

Seattle, Washington 98101-1271 

Phone: 206-553-7970 

Email: kayla.stahman@udsdoj.gov 

COMPLAINT FOR A CIVIL CASE - 17 

Respectfully submitted,

 OF COUNSEL: 

FOR THE FEDERAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

BENJAMIN WISEMAN 

Acting Associate Director 

Division of Privacy & Identity Protection 

ELISA JILLSON 

ANDREW HASTY 

JULIA HORWITZ 

Attorneys

Division of Privacy & Identity Protection 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 

(206) 553-7970