The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made clear that protecting children’s privacy is now a top enforcement priority under its new leadership. Recent statements from FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak reinforce that businesses handling children’s data should prepare for heightened regulatory scrutiny.
Speaking in Washington, D.C., during the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Global Privacy Summit, Commissioner Holyoak emphasized that children’s privacy remains a significant enforcement priority for the FTC. Central to this renewed focus is the enforcement of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), with the agency already advancing significant updates to the rule.
The FTC is not the only regulatory body focusing on children’s privacy. Also speaking at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit, many representatives of state regulatory bodies focused on enforcing state data protection laws, similarly echoed the desire to focus on higher-risk activities. The focus includes paying closer attention to governing the processing of teens’ personal information online as well as practices related to the sale of data from minors. For companies that have historically leveraged the age threshold under COPPA for bifurcating data collection practices between children and others, this may pose a challenge as data related to teens is not within the scope of that original COPPA threshold but would be the focus of regulatory enforcement at the state level. Given the heightened focus regulators across the board are placing on this scenario, companies dealing with data related to teens should consider mapping out specific use cases where this may be an initial step, analyzing the potential risk of each individually.
Businesses that collect, use, or share children’s data should act now to evaluate and strengthen their privacy practices to mitigate regulatory risk. Varnum’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Team stands ready to help your organization navigate these developments, strengthen your compliance strategies, and stay ahead of regulatory risk.
