Having no leniency towards businesses’ compliance with mandatory age verification is the general rule of governments and regulators. However, the Federal Trade Commission has said it will not pursue certain COPPA enforcement actions when companies collect personal data solely to determine a user’s age. This allows some breathing room for those already following the regulation.
Child safety is the overall objective of ensuring we strengthen online protections for children. If companies follow the rules that the government is stating clearly on age verification, they will decline to bring certain cases under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule when companies use personal data strictly to verify users’ ages without seeking parental consent. They will, however, take enforcement action if no compliance is shown with the rules.
The COPPA Rule requires operators of commercial websites or online services directed to children under 13 – or those with actual knowledge they are collecting data from a child under 13 – to notify parents of their data practices and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using or disclosing a child’s personal information.
Age-verification mandates have ramped up for online platforms, which must align with this roadmap.
Some technologies used for that purpose may involve collecting personal information from children, raising questions about potential conflicts with COPPA around privacy.
The Commission’s notice makes clear that operators must meet specific conditions. Data must be used for age verification purposes only and not retained longer unnecessarily by the provider or any third party it’s shared with, who must also maintain the data’s confidentiality and security.
Operators must also provide clear notice to parents and children and take reasonable steps to ensure age verification tools are likely to produce accurate results.
“Age verification technologies are some of the most child-protective technologies to emerge in decades,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, adding that the statement is intended to encourage the use of such tools to help parents protect children online.
The commission voted 2-0 to issue the policy statement. The FTC said it plans to initiate a review of the COPPA Rule to address age verification mechanisms. The policy will remain in effect until final rule amendments are published in the Federal Register or the statement is withdrawn.
