COPPA Rule

The COPPA Rule, which was established primarily to curb direct marketing at children under 13, first went into effect in 2000 to implement the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 1998. COPPA limits the collection and processing of children under 13's data where verifiable parental consent has not been obtained and has had the effect of making 13 the de facto age of adulthood online. It’s broader rules, definitions and limitations have shaped children’s experience of the digital environment more than any other piece of regulation to date.

5Rights Foundation has been leading a UK response to a review of COPPA, engaging directly with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and in November 2019 we coordinated a joint letter to the FTC from UK organisations with an interest in children’s rights online. We continue to call for broader reform of the COPPA regime to ensure that all children under 18 receive the protection they need for their data, wherever they are in the digital environment.

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