FTC Reports to Congress on First Five Years of COPPA

Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA):

"It is unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children, or any operator that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child, to collect personal information from a child in a manner that violates the regulations prescribed . . ."

[See TITLE XIII-CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION, SEC. 1303(a)(1).]

In a report to Congress, FTC says that the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) COPPA Rule, have been effective in protecting the privacy and security of young children online without unduly burdening website operators. The report does not recommend any changes to COPPA or to FTC's Rule, but does note that, because widespread age verification technology is not available, age falsification remains a risk on general audience websites not intended for children's use. The report also identifies social networking sites and mobile Internet access as new and emerging issues in child privacy online.

Congress enacted COPPA in 1998 to address privacy and security risks created when children under 13 years of age are online. COPPA imposes requirements on operators of Web sites and online services directed to children, as well as other operators with actual knowledge that they have collected personal information from children. The FTC Rule implementing COPPA?s requirements became effective in April 2000.

FTC has brought 12 COPPA law enforcement actions, assessing over $1.8 million in civil penalties for alleged violations.

(Implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act: A Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress (February 2007); see also: FTC Release, February 27, 2007.)