WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) celebrated the unanimous passage of their Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) through the Commerce Committee. The legislation would ensure children and teenagers are protected online by updating online data privacy rules for the 21st century.
“We are proud of the momentum and broad support that our commonsense Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act is gaining from industry, advocates, and our own Senate colleagues,” said Senators Cassidy and Markey. “Today’s unanimous vote is further evidence of the broad, bipartisan commitment to protecting children and teens online. As our young people continue to face a devastating youth mental health crisis, Congress must pass COPPA 2.0 and implement these overdue safeguards for children and teens.”
Specifically, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act would:
- Ban targeted advertising to children and teens;
- Create an “Eraser Button” by requiring companies to permit users to delete personal information collected from a child or teen;
- Establish data minimization rules to prohibit the excessive collection of children and teens’ data;
- Revise COPPA’s “actual knowledge” standard to close the loophole that allows platforms to ignore kids and teens on their site; and
- Build on COPPA by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 16 years old without their consent.
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