Senator is House author of the Children’s Online Privacy Prevention Act (COPPA)

Washington (July 18, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), author of the Children’s Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), released the following statement after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a federal register notice seeking comment on whether the Children’s Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) rule should be amended. Passed in 1998, COPPA currently covers children age 12 and younger, and it requires operators of commercial websites and online services directed to children 12 and younger to abide by various privacy safeguards as they collect, use, or disclose personal information about kids. In March, Senator Markey and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation to update children’s online privacy rules for the 21st century.

“COPPA is the constitution for children’s privacy online, and as its author I have consistently advocated for thoughtful updates to the existing COPPA regime to keep pace with technological changes and emerging threats to kids,” said Senator Markey, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “I plan to submit comments to the FTC about how to effectively update the COPPA rules, including expansion of the types of protected data.”

“But if the Commission is truly serious about protecting young people online, it will enforce existing protections, hold violators accountable no matter how powerful they are, and act as a forceful check against the ever-increasing appetite for children’s data. And no action by the Commission in this proceeding will eliminate the dire need for Congress to pass the bipartisan COPPA 2.0 bill I have introduced with Senator Hawley, which extends privacy protections to teens aged 13, 14, 15, bans targeted advertisements to kids, and creates an eraser button for young users to eliminate information they’ve posted online.”

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