InfoBytes Blog
Democrats urge FTC to update COPPA
On September 29, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), along with three other Congressional Democrats, sent a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan requesting that the Commission update its regulations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The Senators encouraged the FTC to use its regulatory authority to update COPPA to implement additional protections addressing online threats to children as their use of technology increases. They laid out several areas for the FTC’s consideration, including (i) “expanding the definition of ‘personal information’ covered under COPPA”; (ii) “implementing rules to effectuate COPPA’s prohibition on conditioning a child’s participation in an online activity on the child sharing more data than is reasonably necessary”; (iii) “implementing rules to effectuate COPPA’s requirement that platforms protect the confidentiality, security, and integrity of children’s data”; (iv) “ensuring that COPPA’s requirements protect children on the platforms they actually use by updating COPPA’s regulations defining platforms that are directed to children and updating regulations defining platforms that have actual knowledge they are collecting data from children”; (v) “implementing regulatory protections that reflect the increased use of online platforms for educational purposes”; and “(vi) implementing regulatory protections that reflect changes in online advertising practices.”
The Senators also applauded the FTC’s recently issued advanced notice of proposed rulemaking requesting feedback on questions related to a wide range of concerns about commercial surveillance practices (covered by InfoBytes here), including those involving children and teens, and advised the Commission to closely review and consider expert responses when crafting its rules aimed at the protection of children’s privacy.