On May 22 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a $6 million settlement with Edmodo, an ed tech provider, for violations of the COPPA Rule and Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC described this settlement as the first FTC order that will prohibit an ed tech provider from requiring students to provide more personal data than necessary to participate in online activities. The settlement is consistent with the FTC’s policy statement on ed tech issued last May (see our summary of the policy statement here).
Children's Privacy
UK ICO Provides Guidance On When A Service Is “Likely To Be Accessed By Children” And Needs To Comply With Its Age-Appropriate Design Code
By Dan Cooper, Paul Maynard & Sam Jungyun Choi on
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) recently published detailed draft guidance on what “likely to be accessed” by children means in the context of its Age-Appropriate Design Code (“Code”), which came into force on September 2, 2020. The Code applies to online services “likely to be accessed by children” in the UK. “Children” are individuals under the age of 18. In order to determine whether an online service is “likely to be accessed” by children, companies must assess whether the nature and content of the service has “particular appeal for children” and “the way in which the service was accessed”. This new draft guidance provides further assistance on how to make this assessment, and is undergoing a public consultation until May 19, 2023.…
State, Federal, and Global Developments in Children’s Privacy, Q1 2023
This year has been off to a busy start with respect to children’s and minors’ privacy legislation efforts. We wanted to take a moment to recap the latest developments across the board.
The most notable trend of the year thus far has been the widespread introduction of Age Appropriate Design Codes. Ten states have thus…
Age Verification: State of Play and Key Developments in the EU and UK
By Dan Cooper, Sam Jungyun Choi & Laura Somaini on
Regulators in Europe and beyond have been ramping up their efforts related to online safety for minors, through new legislation, guidance, and by promoting self-regulatory tools. We discuss below recent developments in the EU and UK on age verification online.…
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Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Children’s Online Safety
On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Protecting Our Children Online.” The witnesses included only consumer advocates, and no industry representatives. As Committee Chair, however, Senator Durbin (D-IL) indicated that he plans to hold another hearing featuring representatives from technology companies.…
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UK Information Commissioner’s Office Publishes Guidance for Video Game Developers and Designers to Improve Data Protection in their Services
By Dan Cooper & Sam Jungyun Choi on
On February 16, 2023, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released guidance for the video game industry on how to conform with the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code when developing video games. This blog post summarizes the ICO’s recommendations for video game developers and designers when creating video games that are likely to be accessed by children under the age of 18. For more information about the UK’s Age Appropriate Design Code, see our previous blog posts here and here.…
Ninth Circuit Holds COPPA Does Not Preempt Consistent State Law Claims Premised on COPPA Violations
By Amy Heath & Kathryn Cahoy on
The Ninth Circuit recently held that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to regulate the online collection of personal information from children under the age of 13, does not preempt consistent state law, potentially increasing the risk of class action litigation based on alleged COPPA violations. See Jones …
New Jersey Assembly Introduces Age-Appropriate Design Code Bill
By Lindsey Tonsager & Madeline Salinas on
Last week, New Jersey Assemblyman Herb Conway Jr. introduced a bill similar to the California Age-Appropriate Design Code (“CA AADC”) enacted in September. The bill, NJ A4919, tracks the CA AADC in many respects but contains several notable differences, which we summarize below:
- Covered businesses. The CA AADC applies to any online service,
FTC Hosts Event Regarding Children’s Experiences with Digital Advertising
By Madeline Salinas & Terrell McSweeny on
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) hosted a virtual event on “Protecting Kids from Stealth Advertising in Digital Media.” The event featured industry professionals, legal and child development experts, researchers, and consumer advocates to discuss the regulation of digital advertising to children. Panelists examined the online advertising techniques children are exposed to, children’s capacity to understand and recognize advertising, and the potential harms associated with advertising in an ever-evolving digital landscape. …
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Brazil’s ANPD Launches Public Consultation on the Processing of Minors’ Personal Data
Posted in Children's Privacy, Data Privacy
On September 8, 2022, the Brazilian Data Protection Authority (“ANPD”) launched a public consultation on the processing of minors’ personal data (encompassing children under 12-years-old and adolescents between the ages of 12- and 18-years-old). The consultation will conclude on October 7, 2022. According to the ANPD, the purpose of the consultation is to resolve divergent interpretations among public authorities, academics, privacy professionals, and representatives of civil society regarding the Brazilian Data Protection Law’s (“LGPD”) provision on the processing of minors’ personal data (Article 14). The Authority will use the feedback it receives to draw up guidelines on the topic and, possibly, amend the LGPD.…