Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Commissioner Brill Outlines Vision for FTC COPPA Rule Updates in Response to New Technologies , (Nov 16, 2012)

By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LLM.

During a November 15 speech to the Family Online Safety Institute in Washington, D.C., FTC Commissioner Julie Brill put forth her vision for a future FTC enforcement regime for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that would accommodate emerging technologies.

Brill set the stage by outlining her background as both a parent and a member of the law enforcement community, relating those to Congressional intent for enacting COPPA—that is, giving parents control over their children’s online experiences.

She discussed examples of enforcement actions the FTC has brought against online service providers, including a $1 million penalty against the Xanga.com social networking site for failing to obtain parental permission; a $3 million penalty against Playdom, a developer of online virtual worlds, for collecting and disclosing children’s information without parental consent; and a $1 million penalty against an operator of fan websites for musicians for failing to obtain parental permission before collecting children’s information and activating their registrations. The Commissioner described a recent enforcement action against W3 Innovations for failing to obtain parental permission before collecting children’s e-mail addresses and allowing them to post personal information on message boards. She portrayed these enforcement actions as designed to promote parental control.

Having surveyed the recent history of COPPA enforcement, Brill proceeded to discuss the FTC’s intention to update its COPPA Rule in light of new technologies. She outlined the FTC’s proposed changes to the rule, including those “mak[ing] clear the COPPA applies to new media,” “ensur[ing] that information that should be characterized as ‘personal information’ is in fact covered by the COPPA Rule,” “streamlin[ing] how parents are notified about an operator’s privacy practices,” “allow[ing] operators to innovate and create new ways to obtain verifiable parental consent from parents,” and bringing more types of entities that collect and use information about children within the ambit of COPPA. She also expressed appreciation for the input the FTC had received and continued to receive from stakeholders.

She closed by acknowledging the need to design a COPPA Rule that facilitated parental control while still permitting businesses to create new and innovative products for children. She urged a “continued careful deployment” of new technology that would ensure parents retained control over their children’s online experiences.

News: ConsumerProtection Privacy