Existing rules under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) must be maintained so that American children’s privacy remains protected online, said U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and a small bipartisan group of colleagues.
“As the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to review the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule), we write to strongly caution you against undertaking a process that ultimately weakens children’s privacy instead of improving it,” wrote Sen. Blackburn and three other senators in an Oct. 4 letter sent to all five FTC commissioners.
The senators sent their letter following the FTC’s recent announcement that it would start an ahead-of-schedule review of the COPPA Rule, along with the commission’s request for public comment on possible updates to child privacy protections.
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) led Sen. Blackburn and the other senators in signing the letter in which they expressed concern that many of the questions presented in the FTC’s request for public comments suggest an intention to add exceptions and other rule changes to COPPA that would weaken children’s privacy online.
Sen. Blackburn and the senators expressed skepticism that the FTC fully appreciates the “threat some tech companies pose to children” and cautioned the commission to only pursue changes to existing regulations that prioritize corporate interests over children’s privacy and well-being, according to the letter.
“The FTC’s failure now and in recent years to fully enforce COPPA compliance has us concerned that an update at this time could diminish children and parents’ control of their data or otherwise weaken existing privacy protections,” the senators wrote. “Now is not the time to pull back.”
“As children’s use of technology continues to increase, so too does the appetite by tech giants for children’s personal information,” Sen. Blackburn and her colleagues pointed out. “Your agency’s obligation is to put consumers’ interests first and enforce the law.”