United StatesTechnology and telecom2018 – ongoing

Amazon

Alexa training with retained children's voice recordings

Amazon's Alexa settlement required a $25 million penalty and restrictions on retained voice data

StoppedRegulator, audit or court

Problem

Amazon used voice recordings to improve Alexa's speech recognition. Regulators alleged that it retained children's recordings indefinitely and failed to honor some deletion requests.

Approach

Alexa recorded spoken requests and produced written transcripts, including for child-directed services introduced in 2018. The FTC alleged that unlawfully retained data helped improve Alexa's algorithms. A federal court entered a settlement order in July 2023 requiring deletion safeguards and a civil penalty.

Results

$25 millioncivil penalty required by the entered federal court orderRegulator, audit or court[2]

Takeaway

The settlement restricted retention and training uses of affected data. Alexa continued operating.

Sources

FTC and DOJ Charge Amazon with Violating Children’s Privacy Law by Keeping Kids’ Alexa Voice Recordings Forever and Undermining Parents’ Deletion Requests
Federal Trade Commission31 May 2023Regulator, audit or court document
Amazon Agrees to Injunctive Relief and $25 Million Civil Penalty for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law Relating to Alexa
United States Department of Justice19 Jul 2023Regulator, audit or court document

Source summaries

[1]Federal Trade Commission31 May 2023

The FTC alleged unlawful retention of children's recordings and use of retained data to improve Alexa. It described proposed deletion requirements and restrictions on algorithm training.

[2]United States Department of Justice19 Jul 2023

DOJ confirmed entry of the settlement order and its $25 million penalty. The order required deletion of inactive child profiles unless parents requested retention and imposed further privacy obligations.

Full details are in the original sources.

Added 1 Nov 2026 · Updated 1 Nov 2026