FTC proposes revised kids’ online privacy rule

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BOSTON, MA — The Federal Trade Commission has proposed amendments to regulations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, including an expansion to cover emerging technologies like social media networks and mobile platforms.

The Act requires that operators of websites directed at children under 13 years old obtain verifiable consent from parents before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from children.

The proposed amendments would, among other things, update the definition of “personal information” to include information and other identifiers used for functions other than the website’s internal operations, such as tracking cookies.

The proposed rule would also require new methods to obtain verifiable parental consent, including electronic scans of signed parental consent forms, video-conferencing and use of government-issued identification checked against a database, provided that the parent’s ID is deleted promptly after verification is completed.

The amendments would also require that operators ensure that any service providers or third parties to whom they disclose a child’s personal information have reasonable procedures in place to protect it.

“In this era of rapid technological change, kids are often tech savvy but judgment poor,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a statement announcing the proposed rulemaking. “We want to ensure that the COPPA Rule is effective in helping parents protect their children online, without unnecessarily burdening online businesses.”