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Children’s privacy bill overview:
- Who: Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass. and Bill Cassidy, R-La. re-introduced a bill that would amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
- Why: The bill, which previously stalled on the senate floor, aims to increase data privacy protections for underage internet users.
- Where: Nationwide.
- What are my options: SentryPC carries many options when it comes to privacy protection.
A pair of Senators have re-introduced a bill that would amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), in a bid to increase data privacy protections for minors on the internet.
The proposed bill — brought by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Bill Cassidy, R-La. — aims to
place bans on targeted advertising towards youth and to set more limits on what data can be collected and retained from underage users.
COPPA, which went into effect in 1998, was previously amended in 2013. The law was enacted to improve privacy protections for minors online.
Markey and Cassidy say the purpose of the new bill, called COPPA 2.0, is to “stop the data practices fueling today’s youth mental health crisis,” by increasing on those already-put-in-place protections.
COPPA advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee back in July 2022, however it later would fall short in the Senate, causing Markey and Cassidy to bring the proposal black to the chambers, reports Law360.
Markey, who helped author COPPA back when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives, said it is the job of Congress to “stand up for young people” and put an end to the targeting of underage data online.
“Big Tech is knowingly fueling a mental health crisis in this country by exploiting kids and teens just so they can make more money,” he said.
Bill would prohibit companies from marketing to individuals under the age of 16
The proposed bill would prohibit companies from marketing to individuals under the age of 16, make it possible for minors and their parents to remove their personal information, and establish a “digital marketing bill of rights” that would limit the collection of personal data from teens.
Markey and Cassidy’s revised bill would also force companies to get consent before collecting personal data from anyone between the ages of 13 and 16 and create a Youth Marketing and Privacy Division at the Federal Trade Commission.
“Congress must pass COPPA 2.0 to put immediate safeguards in place that prevent Big Tech from tracking, traumatizing, and targeting young people every second, every minute, and every hour of the day,” Markey said.
The bill proposal comes in the wake of Utah becoming the first state in the US last month to pass laws limiting access to social media platforms for users under the age of 18.
Do you believe there should be increased privacy protections for underage internet users? Let us know in the comments!
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