|
Congress passed COPPA to protect children's personal information from its collection and misuse by commercial Web sites. On October 20, 1999, the Federal Trade Commission issued a
Final Rule [.pdf]
implementing the Act, which went into effect on April 21, 2000. COPPA requires commercial Web sites and other online services directed at children 12 and under, or which collect information regarding users' age, to provide parents with notice of their information practices and obtain parental consent prior to the collection of personal information from children.
The Act further requires such sites to provide parents with the ability to review and correct information about their children collected by such services. COPPA was designed to ensure that children's ability to speak, seek out information, and publish would not be adversely affected.
|
|
FTC Releases Children's Privacy Rules -
The Federal Trade Commission issued its Final Rule [pdf] on the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act. CDT believes that the final Rule, unlike the proposed Rule issued in April (see CDT's comments and
supplementary comments), is likely to allow kids to continue to interact on the Internet, while limiting collection of personal information for commercial purposes. The final Rule
clarifies issues of coverage and liability, and hopefully will result in a
predictable and understandable environment for the protection of children's
privacy. October 20, 1999
Children's Web Sites Continue to Undermine Kids Privacy
-
A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) survey of children's Web sites found most sites continue to collect personally identifiable information from underage computer users despite repeated warnings. Deirdre Mulligan, CDT staff counsel, who specializes in online privacy issues stated that, "The public is deeply concerned with children's privacy and safety online. The ongoing collection of personally identifiable information from children undermines children's privacy and is likely to scare parents into keeping their children off the Internet. The Internet community stands to lose out if it fails to respect individual, and especially children's privacy." December 16, 1997
Hearing Held on 'Children's Privacy' Legislation - The increasing use of the Internet by children, combined with the ease of
collecting personal information online, raise serious privacy issues. Over the past several months, concerns about the availability and use of personal information in the online world, particularly with respect to the collection and use of information about children, have prompted Congress to seriously consider this important issue.
Legislation designed to restrict the collection and use of personal
information about children without parental consent was introduced
by Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ) on May 22, 1996. While the bill (H.R. 3508) is supported by various groups, including Enough is Enough and Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), it has sparked concerns from cyber-rights advocates that it may end up increasing the collection of personal information online and result in restrictions on the free flow of information.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), People for the American Way (PFAW) Action Fund, Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW), and CDT sent Rep. Franks a letter regarding his legislation on June 4, 1996. In the letter, the groups expressed concern that the bill, in its current form, raises some of the same privacy and free flow of information concerns raised by the Exon/Coats 'Communications Decency Act' to the extent that it is extremely difficult to know whether or not a person visiting a web site is or is not a child without requiring all visitors to identify themselves.
On September 12, 1996, the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the bill. CDT sent a letter to subcommittee members reiterating its concerns about the bill. September 13, 1996
FTC Focuses on Children's Privacy on the Internet -
Among the several topics discussed at FTC hearings held on June 4-5, 1996 was the issue of children's privacy on the Internet. These hearings highlighted the current and future availability of technologies which empower users and parents to exercise more control over the collection and use of personal information. June 5, 1996
Previous Headlines
|
