One of the main concerns of the time was the eventual accessibility of child-based websites at the fear many were unwilling to change their business practices. The early years of the transition were fraught with confusion and a lot of animosity. The new millennium ushered in an era of regulation that many were simply unaware of. This ultimately resulted in the drafting of COPPA. This resulted in the need to inform parents about the risks of children's online privacy, as well as to parental consent necessity. After the FTC completed its investigation, it issued the 'KidsCom Letter' the report stated that the data collection and use practices were indeed subject to legal action. The Center for Media Education petitioned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the data collection and use practices of the KidsCom website, and take legal action since the data practices violated Section 5 of FTC Act concerning 'unfair/deceptive practices.' With the passing of the Drivers Privacy Protection Act in 1997, new precedents had been set in regard to the ability of congress to regulate information held by state agencies. In the 1990s, electronic commerce was on its rise of popularity, but various concerns were expressed about the data collection practices and the impact of Internet commerce on user privacy-especially for children under 13, because very few websites had their own privacy policies.

Īlthough children under 13 can legally give out personal information with their parents' permission, many websites-particularly social media sites, but also other sites that collect most personal info-disallow children under 13 from using their services altogether due to the cost and work involved in complying with the law. It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online, including restrictions on the marketing of those under 13. jurisdiction about children under 13 years of age, including children outside the U.S.

The act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. Tooltip Public Law (United States) 105–277 (text) (PDF), 112 Stat. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 ( COPPA) is a United States federal law, located at 15 U.S.C.

Laws for child protection online games