FTC Wants to Update Online Child Privacy Law
Federal law prohibits Web sites from gathering information about kids under 13 without a parent’s permission, but that law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), has not been updated since 1998—before Facebook, Twitter, or smartphones. Given those vast changes in the technology landscape, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been reviewing COPPA in the hopes of bringing it more in line with 2011 realities. After asking for public comments on the matter last year, the agency today released several recommendations for how the law might be updated. First, the FTC said there needs to be an update to the various definitions. The phrase “Personal information,” for example, should include geolocation data and tracking cookies used by online advertisers. When it comes to “collection,” the FTC said children should be allowed to use certain sites or online destinations without parental consent provided Web site owners take steps to delete a child’s information before it is made public. COPPA only allows Web sites to gather the personal information of children with parental consent, but the FTC recommended updating the ways by which that is obtained. At this point, Web site operators can do so via email, but the agency proposed stronger safeguards, like electronic scans of consent forms, video conferencing, or using government-issued IDs that are checked against a database. The FTC said it is open to other ideas, however, and proposed a 180-day comment period during which companies could submit their parental consent process for approval. “In this era of rapid technological change, kids are often tech savvy but judgment poor. We want to ensure that the COPPA Rule is effective in helping parents protect their children online, without unnecessarily burdening online businesses,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “We look forward to the continuing thoughtful input from industry, children’s advocates, and other stakeholders as we work to update the Rule.” Readmore
on 
on 
on 
Loading ...
