FTC looks to expand online privacy protections for kids

Under the , websites and online services are already required to provide notice to and obtain consent from parents to collect, use or disclose information from children younger than 13 years, with limits on what data they can collect and how long they can store it.

The proposed changes would require to allow a child’s information to be disclosed to third-party advertisers and would reinforce existing prohibitions on conditioning participation on the collection of personal data.

“Kids must be able to play and learn online without being endlessly tracked by companies looking to hoard and monetize their personal data,” said in a statement.

It would also bar websites from using contact information and identifiers to send push notifications to children to encourage them to stay online, mandate stronger data security requirements for sites that collect a child’s data and limit data retention to only “as long as necessary to fulfill the specific purpose for which it was collected.”

“The proposed changes to COPPA are much-needed, especially in an era where online tools are essential for navigating daily life—and where firms are deploying increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil children,” Khan said.

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