Walberg, Castor Introduce Comprehensive Children's Privacy Bill

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The bipartisan, bicameral COPPA 2.0 modernizes and strengthens the only online privacy law for children, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 26 years after COPPA's enactment, COPPA 2.0 takes a multifaceted approach to adjust to the modern realities and threats children and teenagers face online in the digital age.

Over 90 percent of parents agree that existing children’s privacy rules should be extended to teenagers. The need for a comprehensive set of protections to safeguard children's and teen’s privacy online has become significantly more urgent. The Surgeon General found that social media can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of minors, with one in three high school girls contemplating suicide in 2021. Platforms themselves have identified the negative mental health effects of their business models on young people. 

"Children and teens are facing unprecedented pressure and manipulation online, resulting in a youth mental health crisis," said Rep. Walberg. "It is very clear that online platforms’ data practices meaningfully contribute to this alarming trend. Since COPPA's enactment in 1998, we've seen the Internet landscape change dramatically many times over. Along with these changes are emerging and evolving privacy risks targeting our children. It's time we strengthen and modernize the law to better protect our most vulnerable. As young people spend more and more time online, there is an ever-growing need for stronger data protections. I want to thank Rep. Castor, Sen. Markey, and Sen. Cassidy for their leadership on this issue and I look forward to advancing it in the House." 

“For many years, I've called out the manipulative and dark practices of Big Tech platforms and sounded the alarm about incessant surveillance and the tracking of young people,” said Rep. Kathy Castor. “COPPA 2.0 builds upon current law to strengthen protections related to the online collection, use and disclosure of personal information of children and minors up to age 16. This bill will address the excessive collection and surveillance of youth, ban harmful targeted advertising and prompt Big Tech platforms to provide young people and parents with the tools needed to navigate the online world.” 

“The introduction of the House companion to COPPA 2.0 is a critical moment for kids, teens, and parents across the country,” said Senator Edward J. Markey. “This bipartisan, bicameral bill has been intensely vetted and commands broad ideological support. This is the time to pass online privacy legislation for kids and teens and stand up to the Big Tech oligarchs who continue to track and target young people online. We have never been closer to the finish line, and I will not stop until COPPA 2.0 is the law of the land.”   

“Rules from over 25 years ago for social media sites that did not even exist at the time are not equipped to keep children and teenagers safe online. Glad to see the House introduce COPPA 2.0 to give parents peace of mind and prohibit internet companies from collecting personal information on young teenagers without consent,” said Dr. Cassidy.  

Provisions of COPPA 2.0

• Build on COPPA by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 16 years old without their consent;
• Ban targeted advertising to children and teens;
• Revise COPPA’s “actual knowledge” standard to close the loophole that allows social media platforms to ignore kids and teens on their site;
• Create an “Eraser Button” by requiring companies to permit users to eliminate personal information from a child or teen when technologically feasible;
• Establish data minimization rules to prohibit the excessive collection of children and teens’ data.

The full bill text can be found here. 

Over 80 organizations have endorsed COPPA 2.0 and it was introduced in the Senate by Senators Markey (D-MA) and Cassidy (R-LA), unanimously passing the Senate Commerce Committee in July 2023.