United States v. Path

2012 WL 7006381 (2012)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Path

United States District Court for the Northern District of California
2012 WL 7006381 (2012)

Facts

Path, Inc. (defendant) operated a social-networking website and apps that allowed individuals to post a personal journal that they could share with their network. As part of its website-registration process, Path required the user to supply the user’s email address and name. Path also provided an option to enter the user’s date of birth. Upon being given a user’s date of birth, Path was able to decipher the user’s age. Over a period of approximately 18 months, Path accepted the registration of around 3,000 individuals with birth dates indicating that they were children under the age of 13. Path collected the children’s personal information and permitted the children to publicly disclose the information without either (1) providing notice to the children or their parents or (2) receiving the parents’ consent for such use. Through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the United States government (plaintiff) sued Path in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Path had violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). Following the government’s complaint, Path and the government reached a proposed settlement, which they presented to the court for approval.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Spero, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership