One of the issues that often plague technology companies with online services is the issue of collecting and storing user data. Companies such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have been sued by various governments for failing to keep data safe.
Recently, Microsoft has confirmed that they will pay the Federal Trade Commission $20 million (RM92 million) out of court to resolve the issue of taking children's user data without parental consent.
This is in particular for the registration of the Xbox Live service which on average collects the personal details of these child users, including their full name, email address and until 2021, including their phone number.
In fact, the gamer tag used by Xbox for users of the service is also a unique authenticator that can be used by third-party developers, and can be used to obtain this personal information.
Microsoft has also been ordered to change the way Xbox Live accounts are created for children who sign up for those accounts. Apart from asking for the user's date of birth, it will also ask parents for permission to enter additional details such as name, phone number and so on.
For account owners who are under 13 years old on 31 May 2021, the account owner will also be asked to go through the verification process again to ensure that their account is accurate.