Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), passed by Congress in October 1998, requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue and enforce rules concerning children's online privacy. The FTC issued the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule in November 1999; it has been in effect since April 21, 2000. The Rule's primary goal: to place parents in control over what information is collected from their children online.

The Rule applies to:

Operators of commercial websites or online services directed to children under 13 that collect personal information from children;

Operators of general audience sites that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13; and

Operators of general audience sites that have a separate children's area and that collect personal information from children.

The Rule requires these operators to:

Post a privacy policy on the homepage of the website and link to the privacy policy everywhere personal information is collected.

Provide notice to parents about the site's information collection practices and, with some exceptions, get verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children.

Give parents the choice to consent to the collection and use of a child's personal information for internal use by the website, and give them the chance to choose not to have that personal information disclosed to third parties.

Provide parents with access to their child's information, and the opportunity to delete the information and opt out of the future collection or use of the information.

Not condition a child's participation in an activity on the disclosure of more personal information than is reasonably necessary for the activity.

Maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of the personal information collected from children.

source: Federal Trade Commission website