To ensure children’s safety, the Federal Trade Commission is proposing changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule that would shift the responsibility for protecting children from parents to apps.
This proposal seeks to address “evolving personal ways.” Information is collected, used and disclosed, including to monetize children’s data. ” The rule currently requires websites that collect personal information from children under 13 to notify parents and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing the data. It is mandatory to do so. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was implemented under President Clinton in 2000 and has undergone adjustments over the years.
Meta (Nasdaq:Meta),snap(New York Stock Exchange: Snap) and Pinterest (New York Stock Exchange:Pin) is one of the companies that may be affected by the new rules. Snap (SNAP) and Pinterest (PINS) fell more than 1% and meta (META) 0.3% increase on wednesday.
“Children must be able to play and learn online without being endlessly tracked by companies seeking to hoard and monetize their personal data,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan.
“The proposed changes to COPPA are much needed, especially in an era when online tools are essential to everyday life and companies are deploying increasingly sophisticated digital tools to monitor children. Our proposal imposes affirmative obligations on service providers by requiring companies to better protect children’s data, and prohibits service providers from outsourcing that responsibility to parents. ”
Meta, Snap, and Pinterest have not yet responded to Seeking Alpha’s requests for comment.
Proposals include disabling targeted advertising by default and prohibiting conditions on children’s participation in collecting personal information.
The FTC said the public will be able to comment on the proposed changes to COPPA within 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.