What is COPPA?
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed by Congress in October 1998, with a requirement that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issue and enforce rules concerning children's online privacy. The primary goal of the act is to place parents in control over the information that is collected and disclosed about their children online. The Rule was designed to be strong, yet flexible, to protect children while recognizing the dynamic nature of the Internet.
In addition, the Rule prohibits operators from conditioning a child's participation in an online activity on the child's providing more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in that activity.
- The COPPA Rule applies to operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13 and collects their personal information and operators of general audience sites with actual knowledge that they are collecting information from children under 13.
- These operators must:
- post clear and comprehensive Privacy Policies on the website describing their information practices for children's personal information;
- provide notice to parents, and with limited exceptions, obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children;
- give parents the choice to consent to the operator's collection and use of a child's information while prohibiting the operator from disclosing the information to third parties;
- provide parents access to their child's personal information to review and/or have it deleted;
- give parents the opportunity to prevent further collection or use of the information;
- maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of information they collect from children.
For more information, go to http://www.ftc.gov