After a period of regulatory review under Chairman Andrew Ferguson, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule (COPPA Rule or the Rule), which was last updated in 2013. As we reported earlier this year, the FTC finalized its most recent
Privacy
Privacy and Advertising Year in Review 2024: Will Kids and Teens Remain a Focus in 2025?
A new year. A new administration in Washington. While protecting kids and teens is likely to remain an issue that drives legislation, litigation, and policy discussions in 2025, issuance of 1,000 Executive Orders on day one of the Trump Administration may result in new or changed priorities and some delay in the effective date of…
FTC Finalizes Updated COPPA Rule
After a process that began back in 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) unanimously approved a revised Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule or Rule) on January 16, 2025. The Rule was based on comments responding to the FTC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued January 11, 2024. This is…
FTC Announces Final “Click to Cancel” Rule
On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced its final “click-to-cancel” rule, expanding its prior rules on negative options to include all types of subscription sales.
A central element of the rule is a requirement that sellers make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign up…
KOSA and COPPA 2.0 Voted Out of the Senate
As widely predicted, on July 30, 2024, the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) in a bipartisan vote of 91-3. Echoing criticism from both civil liberties groups and industry, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) voted no…
Kids Task Force Issues Guidance for Protecting Minors Online
The interagency Kids Online Health and Safety Task Force, which was created last year and is led by the Department of Commerce (through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration) and the Department of Health and Human Services (through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), released a report on protecting minors online, Online Health …
Video Game Developer Settles Alleged Violations of Federal and State Privacy Laws Governing Children’s Data
On June 18, 2024, the California Attorney General (AG) and Los Angeles City Attorney jointly announced that video game developer and publisher Tilting Point Media LLC (Tilting Point) agreed to a $500,000 settlement for violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and California Unfair Competition Law (UCL) based…
State Privacy Bills Advance While Federal Bill Introduced
As we predicted in our assessment of U.S. advertising and privacy trends in February of this year, states have continued to adopt comprehensive privacy laws during their 2024 legislative sessions. To date, nineteen states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and…
Children’s Online Privacy: KOSA and COPPA Updates
As expected, Congress’ renewed focus on expanding protections for minors online has resulted in legislative developments that attempt to mitigate harms while adhering to the Constitution’s free speech and preemption parameters. Last month, updates to both the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0 bills were released…
Children’s Online Privacy: History, Debates, and Current Legislative Developments
During 2023, legislative, congressional, and executive actions aimed at protecting children and teens online took center stage. Such actions included: legislative attempts to raise the age of a “child” at both the federal and state levels for advertising and privacy purposes; bans on behavioral advertising targeting minors; efforts to restrict access to social media by…