CDD urges Congress to adopt stronger online safeguards for kids and teens

CDD urges Congress to adopt stronger online safeguards for kids and teens

Contact: Katharina Kopp, kkopp [at] democraticmedia.org

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), introduced by Senators Markey and Cassidy, will provide urgently needed online safeguards for children and teens. It will enact real platform accountability and limit the economic and psychological exploitation of children and teens online and thus address the public health crisis they are experiencing.

By banning targeted ads to young people under 16, the endless streams of data collected by online companies to profile and track them will be significantly reduced. The ability of digital marketers and platforms to manipulate, discriminate, and exploit children and teens will be curtailed. COPPA 2.0 will also extend the original COPPA law protections for youth from 12 to 16 years of age.  The proposed law provides the ability to delete children’s and teen’s data with a click of an “eraser button.”  With the creation of a new FTC "Youth Marketing and Privacy Division,” COPPA 2.0 will ensure young peoples’ privacy rights are enforced.