Law
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
- 144 CONG. REC. S8482–83 (daily ed. July 1, 1998) (statement of Sen. Bryan) (introducing legislation)
- 16 CFR § 312
- 16 CFR § 312.2 defines an "operator" one who operates an online service or website "for commercial purposes." Remember that "commercial" includes profit and non-profit services.
Federal Activity
| Proposed Revisions to the COPPANo. |
Comments Due by November 28. |
- For Release: 9/15/2011 FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Revisions to Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule
Changes in Technology Drive Proposed Updates
- Notice Nov. 18, 2011 FTC Extends Deadline for Comments on Proposed Amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Until December 23
- The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule , which gives parents control over what personal information websites may collect from children under 13. The FTC proposes these amendments to ensure that the Rule continues to protect children's privacy, as mandated by Congress, as online technologies evolve. The Commission proposes modifications to the Rule in five areas: definitions, including the definitions of "personal information" and "collection," parental notice, parental consent mechanisms, confidentiality and security of children's personal information, and the role of self-regulatory "safe harbor" programs.
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- Does not recommend raising COPPA age to include teenagers
- Unchanged Knowledge standard unchanged (websites that have actual knowledge that collect information from children)
- Online Services: originally covered websites and services such as AOL Term was never defined. Suggest cover any service over the Internet or connects to the Internet - such as mobile applications (network connected games, social media, ecom, receiving behavior targeted advertising). Could be internet enabled gaming platform, VoIP
- Recent consent decree re itunes app provider that targeted children under age of 13
- Personal information - FTC has discretion to include other identifiers. Purpose to include persistent identifiers including those in cookies where those identifiers are not used for internal operation of site. Purpose to include geolocation information and screen names where does not support internal operation of site. Include photos. Would be permitted when used to support internal operation of service. Those technical activities that would permit functioning; user authentication; site navigation; maintain personal preferences' contextual advertisements; protect against fraud or theft.
- Require parental consent where used for behavioral advertising
- Change criteria of what is website or service that is aimed at children. Added to list, presence of musical content or celebreties that appeal to children
- Change defeintion of collects or collection to make it easier for sites to offer interactive content to children and not fear violation of COPPA if have system of deleting child personal information before posted
- Update ways to get parental consent - electronic scans, video conference, identifications
- Consent methods are electives - not prefering one method over another. Must be reasonably calculated that hte person is in fact the parent of the child. Proposed to eliminate sliding scale mechanism for consent. Had always intended this to be temporary. The email+ method of verification is unreliable. Time has come to eliminate this method. New concent processes: (1) Groups submit to FTC for review a new concent method (2) Operators particpate in safe harbor program use method recognized by safe harbor program.
| Children's Online Privacy Protection Act |
Docket . Comments Due June 30 |
For Release: 03/24/2010
FTC Seeks Comment on Children's Online Privacy Protections; Questions Whether Changes to Technology Warrant Changes to Agency Rule
In light of rapidly evolving technology and changes in the way children use and access the Internet, the Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on the costs and benefits of an FTC rule designed to protect children online.
The FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule became effective on April 21, 2000. COPPA imposes requirements on operators of Web sites or online services that are aimed at children under 13 years of age, or that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Among other things, the Rule requires that online operators notify parents and get their permission before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children. It also requires that the operators keep the information they collect from children secure, and prohibits them from requiring children to turn over any more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in activities on their Web sites.
In 2005, the FTC initiated a congressionally required review of the Rule, and after considering extensive public comment decided to retain it without change. However, the Commission believes that changes to the online environment over the past five years, including children's increasing use of mobile technology to access the Internet, warrant reexamining the Rule.
In a Federal Register notice to be published shortly, the FTC poses its standard regulatory review questions and identifies several areas where public comment would be especially useful. Among other things, the FTC asks:
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For input on the use of automated systems - those that filter out any personally identifiable information prior to posting - to review children's Web submissions.
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Whether operators have the ability to contact specific individuals using information collected from children online, such as persistent IP addresses, mobile geolocation data, or information collected in connection with behavioral advertising, and whether the Rule's definition of "personal information" should be expanded accordingly.
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Whether there are additional technological methods to obtain verifiable parental consent that should be added to the COPPA Rule, and whether any of the methods currently included should be removed.
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Whether parents are exercising their right under the Rule to review or delete personal information collected from their children, and what challenges operators face in authenticating parents.
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Whether the Rule's process for FTC approval of self-regulatory guidelines - known as safe harbor programs - has enhanced compliance, and whether the criteria for FTC approval and oversight of the guidelines should be modified in any way.
Copies of the Federal Register Notice and the public comments received will be posted on the FTC's Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html.
The 90-day comment period will end on June 30, 2010. The Commission also will hold a public roundtable on the COPPA Rule review on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at the FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.
Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the Invitation To Comment part of the "Supplementary Information" section. Comments in electronic form should be submitted using the following Web link: https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/2010copparulereview (and following the instructions on the web-based form). Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex E), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
- FTC Hearing Protecting Kids' Privacy Online June 2, 2010
- FTC, IMPLEMENTING THE CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT: A REPORT TO CONGRESS (Feb. 2007) .
- FTC Retains Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule Without Changes, FTC 3/9/2006
- COPPA Application, FTC 11/29/2005
- Children‘s Online Privacy Protection Rule, 71 Fed. Reg. 13,247, 13,258 (Mar. 15, 2006)
- No later than April 21, 2005, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking review proceeding to evaluate the implementation of this part, including the effect of the implementation of this part on practices relating to the collection and disclosure of information relating to children, children's ability to obtain access to information of their choice online, and on the availability of websites directed to children; and report to Congress on the results of this review. 15 CFR § 312.11. COPPA Sec. 1307.
Aug 22 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Compliance Training Program for Website Operators. FTC.
- FTC, STAFF REPORT, PROTECTING CHILDREN'S PRIVACY UNDER COPPA: A SURVEY ON COMPLIANCE
 (Apr. 2002)
- Online Privacy:
A Report to Congress (6/98)
Papers
- Common Sense Media,
Protecting Our Kids' Privacy in a Digital World
- Common Sense Media White Paper Do Smart Kids = Smart Phones?
- danah boyd, How Teens Understand Privacy, May 9th 2011
- Lauren A. Matecki, Update: COPPA is Ineffective Legislation! Next Steps for Protecting Youth Privacy Rights in the Social Network Era,
5 Nw. J.L. & Soc. Pol'y 369
- Berin Szoka, Adam Thierer COPPA 2.0: The New Battle over Privacy, Age Verification, Online Safety & Free Speech (2009)
- Bartoli, E., 2009. Children's Data Protection vs. Marketing Companies. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology , 23(1-2), 35-45.
- Berson, I.R. & Berson, M.J., 2006. Children and Their Digital Dossiers. International Journal of Social Education , 21(1), 135-147.
- Aidman, A., 2000. Children's Online Privacy What you need to know about the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. Educational Leadership , 58(2), 46-48
- Danielle Garber, COPPA: Protecting Children's Personal Information on the Internet, 10 J.L. & POL'Y 129, 154 (2001)
- Anita Allen, Minor Distractions: Children, Privacy and E-Commerce, 38 HOUS. L. REV. 751 (2001)
- Dorothy Hertzel, Don't Talk to Strangers: An Analysis of Government and Industry Efforts to Protect a Child's Privacy Online, 52 FED. COMM. L.J. 429 (2000).
- Joshua Warmun, Note, Can Coppa Work? An Analysis of the Parental Consent Measures in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 11 FORDHAM INTELL. PROP. MEDIA & ENT. L.J. 189 (2000)
Links
News
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- FTC Fines Mobile App Company for COPPA Violations, Daily Dashboard 8/18/2011
- New Paper on Online Child Safety, Kids' Privacy & Internet Free Speech, Tech Lib Front 8/18/2011
- Mobile Apps Developer Settles FTC Charges It Violated Children's Privacy Rule, FTC 8/15/2011
- FTC Extends Public Comment Period to August 15, 2011 for Aristotle's Proposed Safe Harbor Program Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, FTC 7/26/2011
- Rockefeller Questions Tech Companies on Compliance with Children's Online Privacy Law, Senate Commerce 5/20/2011
- Operators of Online "Virtual Worlds" to Pay $3 Million to Settle FTC Charges That They Illegally Collected and Disclosed Children's Personal Information, FTC 5/16/2011
- Danah Boyd , Urs Gasser and John G. Palfrey Jr. , How the COPPA, as Implemented, is Misinterpreted by the Public: A Research Perspective, Berkman Center 4/11/2011
- Lauren A. Matecki, Update: COPPA is Ineffective Legislation! Next Steps for Protecting Youth Privacy Rights in the Social Networking Era 5 Nw. J.L. & Soc. Pol'y 369, NW JL & Soc 10/12/2010
- EPIC Urges Federal Trade Commission to Strengthen Childrens' Privacy Rule, EPIC 7/12/2010
- FTC Extends Public Comment Period for COPPA Rule Review until July 12, 2010, FTC 7/7/2010
- Troubling COPPA Filing by Common Sense Media, TLF 7/7/2010
- FTC Rejects COPPA Safe Harbor Application, FTC 6/9/2010
- Public Roundtable to Review Impact of Technology Changes on FTC's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, FTC 6/1/2010
- EPIC Urges Congress to Extend Children's Privacy Law to Teenagers and Social Network Services, Says Current Law had Failed to Keep Up with New Business Practices, EPIC 4/30/2010
- FTC Tells Congress It Is Reviewing Whether Technology Changes Call for Revisions to the Agency's Rule Protecting Kids' Online Privacy, FTC 4/30/2010
- Congressional Hearing: "An Examination of Children's Privacy: New Technologies and the Children's Online Privacy Protec, EPIC 4/28/2010
- FTC to Host Public Roundtable to Review Whether Technology Changes Warrant Changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, FTC 4/21/2010
- FTC Announces Broad COPPA Review for Children's Online Privacy, PFF 3/26/2010
- COPPA 2.0: The New Battle over Privacy, Age Verification, Online Safety & Free Speech, Pff 5/25/2009
- Groups ask FTC to probe Amazon over children's privacy, Mercury 4/23/03
- Complaint to FTC Says Amazon.com Violates Children's Privacy Law, Wash Post 4/23/03
- A Sweet Victory For Kids' Privacy, Internet News 2/28/03
- FTC: Serious About Kids' Privacy, Internet News 4/22/02
- Coping with COPPA : Children's Privacy in an Online Jungle, WebTechniques 7/19/01
- COPPA Given Mixed First-Year Revue, Newsbytes 4/19/01
- Children's Protection Act Falling Short - Update, Newsbytes 4/19/01
- Jennifer Wolcott, A Year Later, Kids’ Privacy Rule Still Debated, CHRISTIAN SCI. MONITOR, Apr. 18, 2001
- Kids' online choices limited, USAToday 4/14/01
- FTC Settles With 3 on COPPA Charges, Standard 4/19/01
- FTC Enforces, Consumers Praise COPPA, Reuters 4/19/01
- Children's sites short on privacy info, CNET 3/30/01
- An Ordeal: Copin' With COPPA Sept 20, 2000 wired
- Children's Web site to shut down chat rooms, e-mail July 14, 2000 computerworld
- Internet sites for children say new law hurting business July 14, 2000 digitalmass
- Contending With COPPA Confusion Aug 23, 2000 wired
- Disney May Sponsor Child Internet Privacy Workshop - Update newsbytes
- Sites Drop Kids to Comply With COPPA Time 4/25
- Online Privacy Inside and Out E Comm Times 4/25
- Sites Brace for COPPA Fall Out ZDNet 4/25
- Will the Children's Privacy Act Trigger a Landslide? E Comm Times 4/25
- First U.S. Online Privacy Law Goes Live Internet News 4/21
- COPPA is now patrolling the Net MSNBC ZDNET
- FTC Educates Sites About Child Privacy Law Aug 22, 2000 newsbytes
- Kids' Privacy an Act, or Action? Wired 4/21
- FTC checks sites for child law compliance July 20, 2000 usatoday
- Children's Net privacy law goes into effect C|NET 4/21
- Law protecting children from Web site queries goes into effect NandoTimes 4/21
- COPPA Enforcement Won't Be Draconian - Privacy Experts NewsBytes 4/18
- New law prompts Web sites to review policies for kids TechServer 4/17
- COPPA is now patrolling the Net MSNBC ZDNET
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