The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), is a U.S. federal law designed to safeguard the privacy and personally identifying information of children under the age of 13 who use online services.

Purpose:

• COPPA aims to protect children’s online privacy by requiring parental consent before collecting personal information from kids.

Applicability:

• It applies to websites and online services directed at children under 13, as well as those that knowingly collect personal information from children.

Requirements:

• Parental Consent: Operators must obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting or using children’s data.
• Data Security: Operators must maintain reasonable data security practices.
• Disclosure: Websites must provide clear and concise privacy policies.
• Exceptions: COPPA allows for certain exceptions, such as data collection for educational purposes, internal operations, and parental review.
• Enforcement: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces COPPA and can impose penalties for non-compliance.

View the full text of the law