Over the last few weeks, a number of cosponsors have been added to the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011 (H.R. 1895), bringing the total number of cosponsors to 29. The bill was introduced by Rep. Markey and Rep. Barton on May 13, 2011. Earlier this month, the two members also hosted a Congressional briefing to discuss how … Continue Reading
The FTC staff released a report today calling for participants in the mobile app ecosystem — including app developers, app stores, and third parties who collect data through mobile apps — to provide better privacy notices to parents about mobile apps directed to children, and warning that over the next six months, staff will be conducting additional reviews … Continue Reading
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held the latest in its series of hearings on Internet privacy Wednesday morning. The hearing — titled “Protecting Children’s Privacy in an Electronic World” — focused on the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed updates to the regulations implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act … Continue Reading
Politico and other news sources are reporting that the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade plans to hold a hearing on the FTC’s proposed revisions to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule. We previously analyzed the FTC’s proposal here. The hearing has not yet been formally announced but is … Continue Reading
Resolving the FTC’s first complaint against a mobile app developer under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), W3 Innovations, LLC, a developer of children’s games for the iPhone and iPod touch, has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that it collected and disclosed the personal information of thousands of children under the age of 13 without first providing … Continue Reading
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in the Brown v. Entertainment Merchant’s Association case. Justice Scalia, writing for Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan, held that a California law restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors, and mandating “18” labels for such games, violates the First Amendment. The decision is not … Continue Reading
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) provides a safe harbor for companies that comply with FTC-approved self-regulatory guidelines. Since COPPA’s enactment, the FTC has approved proposals submitted by CARU, ESRB, TRUSTe, and Privo, Inc. Aristotle, which operates the Integrity suite of age and identity verification services, recently filed an application with the FTC to become an FTC-approved safe harbor program. … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on the use of location-based services in connection with a forthcoming staff report. Comments are due to the FCC by July 8, 2011. The agency also is teaming up with the Federal Trade Commission to host an educational forum on June 28, 2011, to help consumers understand the … Continue Reading
Senator Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has asked Apple, Google, and the Association for Competitive Technology to respond to questions to help determine whether the applications running on their mobile platforms comply which the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA requires operators of certain websites and online services to obtain parental consent … Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission today reached a $3 million settlement with 20 operators of online virtual worlds. The settlement is the largest civil penalty that the FTC has obtained to date for a violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC alleged that the operators collected children’s ages and email addresses during … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education sponsored the program “Marketing to Minors: Traps for the Unwary in a Rapidly Evolving Legal Landscape.” Representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and Gannett provided an overview of the current rules for marketing to children, discussed the … Continue Reading
