FTC's Wilson Denies Trying to Weaken Children’s Online Privacy Rule

The FTC doesn’t intend to weaken Obama-era changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Commissioner Christine Wilson said Monday at the agency’s COPPA workshop. Republican colleague Noah Phillips defended the innovation and economic growth spurred by the rule. The agency’s COPPA review (see 1910040026) isn’t an attempt to roll back 2013 changes to the children’s online privacy rule, and the FTC knows protecting innovation can’t be done at the expense of children, Wilson said. The agency wants to make sure COPPA keeps pace with online technology, she said, citing modern data collection methods and ways children interact with media.

“Our risk-based framework has permitted innovation, competition and economic growth for decades,” said Phillips. He recommended the agency keep in mind Congress’ original intent when passing COPPA in 1998, to protect online privacy. Any rulemaking the FTC conducts should be supported by facts, data and evidence, he said. Chairman Joe Simons and the two Democratic commissioners didn’t speak.

This law provides a good framework for potential federal privacy legislation, Wilson said. For example, the FTC’s ability to conduct narrow rulemaking under COPPA “appropriately cabins the agency’s role,” she said, allowing Congress to make societal value judgments. Civil penalty authority has a deterrent effect and should be included in federal privacy legislation, she said.

Some focused on a question by Privacy and Identity Protection Division Associate Director Maneesha Mithal: Does the intended online audience or the actual audience matter more for policymakers?

After settling with the FTC in September over children’s privacy allegations (see 1909040066), YouTube announced it would discontinue personalized ads for children’s content. There has been a flurry of questions from app developers and creators asking whether apps are considered child-directed, said YouTube Vice President-Content Partnerships Malik Ducard. The agency should determine where the lines are drawn because it’s not entirely clear, he said. For instance, content with high demand, like high-profile sports games, draw large audiences, naturally with children, he said, asking whether an event like the Super Bowl would be considered child-directed.

If all content were treated as child-directed content, the ability to collect data would be limited, and services could suffer, Ducard said. Video recommendations for educators could be hurt, he said. Treating everything as child-directed limits user tracking, so platforms are hindered in better protecting child users, said Pokemon International Chief Legal Officer and Business Affairs Don McGowan.

COPPA is meant to protect youth, not profit, said Equity Matters Principal Samantha Vargas Poppe. Parental consent shouldn't be obtained effortlessly, she said.

It was suggested that app developers and app store owners be more involved in applying better parental consent standards. About 20 percent of children download apps without parental OK, said Common Sense Media Senior Counsel-Policy and Privacy Ariel Fox Johnson. There are more places where “friction” can be implemented, she said.

That privacy laws are passing worldwide is a signal the U.S. needs more regulation in this area, not less, said Georgetown University Law Center associate professor Laura Moy. There’s clearly a lack of trust about online privacy, she said.

Industry claims that it’s costly for companies to determine if content is directed at youngsters are incorrect, said Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Executive Director Josh Golin. If platforms are able to tell app developers and content creators which audiences they reach, platforms can just as easily determine if content is kid-directed or if there are child viewers, he said.