By Lesley Fair
Federal Trade Commission
In place since 2000, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule makes it illegal for websites and online services to collect personal information from kids under 13 without parents’ verifiable consent.
It’s been a decade since the last COPPA Rule update, and the FTC is now proposing revisions to reflect technological changes, provide greater protections for kids’ personal information, and ensure that parents – not companies – are still in the driver’s seat when it comes to children’s data. One major suggested change would further limit the ability of companies to monetize children’s data by making it illegal for companies to disclose kids’ information without first obtaining separate parental consent.
That means that behavioral advertising would have to be turned off by default and parents would have the clear option to say no to behavioral advertising even if they consent to the company’s other data practices. The FTC wants your comments about the enhanced protections it has in mind.