FTC sues Sendit for illegally collecting children’s data

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Iconic Hearts Holdings, the company that owns the Sendit app, and its CEO Hunter Rice. They are accused of illegally collecting children’s data and fraudulent subscriptions.

According to the FTC, in 2022 the service had more than 116,000 users under the age of 13 in the US. The company collected their personal data — phone numbers, dates of birth, photos, social media usernames — without parental notification or consent. In addition, Sendit generated fake anonymous messages, often with provocative content, misleading teenagers about the source. The premium “Diamond Membership” subscription was promoted as an opportunity to find out the authors of the messages, but in fact provided false or missing data. The FTC also points to hidden terms of automatic debiting up to $9.99 per week.

Sendit is a popular “icebreaker” application among teenagers for collecting anonymous responses to Snapchat and Instagram Stories. It has been downloaded more than 5 million times on Google Play and has been rated by 1.5 million users on the App Store. The developer claims 25 million active accounts. The FTC voted unanimously (3-0) to refer the case to the US Department of Justice. Similar investigations have already been conducted against Disney and children’s game makers for violating the COPPA law.

The lawsuit against Sendit highlights the tough stance of US regulators on protecting children in the digital environment. If found guilty, the companies and their executives could face serious sanctions and financial penalties. The case is already being considered as a precedent for future investigations into social platforms that target teenagers.