Case 1:21-cv-00824 Document 1 Filed 08/25/21 Page 17 of 71
Angry Birds Dream Blast, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Space, and Angry Birds Go! See Exhibit 1. 39.
Rovio aggressively markets its Angry Birds Gaming Apps to children, and presents
each of these apps with an “Everyone” rating in the Google Play Store. Id. Google Play ratings “are intended to help consumers, especially parents, identify potentially objectionable content that exists within an app” and are based on the app developer’s responses to questionnaires provided by Google—i.e. the ratings reflect the developer’s representations about the appropriate audience for the app.13 An “Everyone” rating means the app’s content is “generally suitable for all ages” and “[m]ay contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.”14 40.
COPPA identifies specific criteria for determining whether an app is “directed to
children,” including: “its subject matter, visual content, use of animated characters or childoriented activities and incentives, music or other audio content, age of models, presence of child celebrities or celebrities who appeal to children, language or other characteristics of the Web site or online service, as well as whether advertising promoting or appearing on the Web site or online service is directed to children.” 16 C.F.R. § 312.2. Additionally, “competent and reliable empirical evidence regarding audience composition, and evidence regarding the intended audience” may be considered. Id. 41.
Google created guidance for developers that adopts a comparable rubric. In a blog
post titled “Creating Apps and Games for Children and Families,”15 it uses the following illustration of sample apps that might appeal to children, children & adults, or simply adults:
“Play Console Help,” Google https://support.google.com/googleplay/androiddeveloper/answer/188189?hl=en (last accessed July 30, 2021). 14 Id. 15 Google, Creating apps and games for children and families, https://developer.android.com/go ogle-play/guides/families (last accessed July 30, 2021). 13
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