COPPA

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a Federal law of the United States of America (US) enacted by the US Congress in 1998 and since amended in 2013. It defines personal information (as applied to children’s personal information or ‘covered information’) and aims to protect children under age 13 by affording certain rights to parents regarding the collection, maintenance, and use/disclosure of that information. COPPA mostly applies to operators of commercial websites and online services (including mobile apps and IoT devices) directed to children under 13 that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children but also includes operators of general audience websites or online services directed to children (under the age of 13) with actual knowledge that they are collecting, using, or disclosing covered information. The primary enforcement of COPPA is by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), however, states and certain federal agencies authority to enforce compliance with respect to entities over which they have jurisdiction.