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Technology changes at the speed of light, but the touchstone of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule remains constant. When it comes to the collection of their kids’ personal information online, parents are in charge. But how does that principle apply in technologies not originally anticipated by the COPPA Rule? Whether it’s social media, the Internet of Things, or educational technology, do changes in media and the marketplace warrant updates to the Rule?

The FTC staff asked that question and others a few months ago and the time has come to talk it over. On October 7, 2019, we’re hosting The Future of the COPPA Rule: An FTC Workshop and you’ll want to check out the just-posted agenda.

FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson will open the event with comments at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. After a presentation by Dr. Jenny Radesky, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School, Panel #1 will examine the State of the World in Children’s Privacy. One panelist of particular note: Jo Pedder, Head of Regulatory Strategy for the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office.

Next on the agenda: remarks from FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips, followed by Panel #2, which will explore the Scope of the COPPA Rule.

The afternoon session will begin with comments from Morgan Reed, President of ACT, The App Association. Then Panel #3 will discuss Definitions, Exceptions, and Misconceptions.

Jonathan Mayer, Assistant Professor in Princeton University’s Department of Computer Science will speak on Technology Trends Since the Revised COPPA Rule. Panel #4 will consider the Uses and Misuses of Persistent Identifiers.

Closing remarks from Maneesha Mithal, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Privacy & Identity Protection, will put the day in perspective.

The Future of the COPPA Rule is free and open to the public. You can attend in person at the FTC’s Constitution Center conference facility, 400 7th Street, S.W., in Washington, DC, or watch the webcast from a link on the event page that will go live moments before the 9:00 ET start on October 7th.

Interested in filing a public comment on the subject? The record will remain open until October 23, 2019.

FTC Future of COPPA workshop logo

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

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Sara Ney
November 28, 2019
It has come to my attention, perhaps at a late hour, that content I, as a 36 yr old woman, enjoy watching/ referring to on youtube may no longer be available or sustainable after the purposed rules take effect. And this severely disappoints and frustrates me. To be clear, I am a gamer... I enjoy playing video games on my PC and have done so for most of my life. Content creators who play games that I enjoy (as examples, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Sims 3 and Sims 4, a plethora of content animated about and for Dungeons & Dragons) may no longer be able to create content for me to enjoy and that is severely disappointing. I believe protecting children, aka humans who are not old enough to consent, should be protected... I also firmly believe that the policies as they are currently set to take effect will result in a lot of joy that adult gamers, larpers', and/ or role-players cherish to cease existing.
Guest
December 09, 2019
You have to be 13 or older to make a YouTube account so ots the childs fault if the use YouTube

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