From vague guidelines to extreme fines, COPPA is a hot topic that has website owners and
content creators scrambling for answers. Today we discuss what’s really going on with this
FTC law.
10. What Is COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that was established in October 1998 is
a nationwide regulation in the United States, and although it’s been over 20 years since
COPPA was put in place, it’s gaining a lot more attention recently than it has in the
past two decades. You may have never heard of this act before, but it applies to all
online applications, devices, websites, etcetera that collect personal information - especially
those directed toward children (classified as ages 12 and under in the guidelines). Although
the rule is only active in the United States, it applies to all US-based sites that appeal
to kids, even if those kids live outside the country. This act describes in detail what
site operators, YouTube creators, and anyone that falls under COPPA is required to include
in their privacy policies. Plus, it explains how they can gain verifiable consent from
parents and guardians and what their responsibilities are regarding the protection of a child’s
privacy and online safety. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is.
9. Directed Toward Children?
If you’re a YouTube creator, website owner, application creator - so on and so forth - then
chances are you fall under the broad umbrella of COPPA regulations. So, how do you determine
if your content is directed at children? The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether or not
you think your site is directed toward kids but rather if it could possibly - in one way
or another - attract children. “Surfers” chosen by the Federal Trade Commission or
FTC complete surveys to determine if sites/ applications/ vlogs/ etc. are pointed at kids
12 and under, and several things can result in a “yes.” Does the site use childhood
slang like “duh,” “games,” “fun,” “whatever,” “cool,” and more? Does
it contain vibrant colors, fast or bold graphics, animation, or use a host character? Are the
ads on the site selling products aimed at kids - like cereal, toys, or games? Does the
audio contain cartoonish voices, popular music, or child-like sounds? If the answer to any
of these questions is “yes,” then the site in question could be considered as “directed
toward kids.”
8. History Of COPPA
So, how did this incredibly extensive law develop? During the 1990s, selling, buying,
and advertising things online began gaining popularity. Since people were doing more on
the internet, they became concerned about websites collecting their personal data. The
concern was more so for children under 13 years old, and the majority of websites had
no privacy policies whatsoever. As the public’s worries increased, the FTC was urged to investigate
the collection and use of personal data from the website “KidsCom.com.” What they found
confirmed people’s concerns and eventually led to the establishment of COPPA. Since then,
adjustments have been made to the rules, and as of 2011, what defines data collection from
children has been greatly expanded. The modified rules required that data should be deleted
after achieving its purpose and that the information given to third parties would be protected
via reasonable procedures. In 2013, changes were made to COPPA again that further revised
the consent requirements and parental notifications, as well as expanded on what a “child-directed
site or service” includes.
7. Group Complaints To FTC
Just because COPPA has been in place for over 20 years doesn’t mean that websites have
been following its guidelines. Recently, numerous groups decided they’d had enough of the
illegal acquisition and use of children’s information, which breaks the Children’s
Online Privacy Protection Act. YouTube is a huge concern for these groups, which include
consumer groups, privacy groups, and child advocacy organizations, and the FTC was petitioned
once more to investigate. Because YouTube’s terms claim that it is directed at viewers
13 years of age and older, it’s been bypassing the child privacy laws for years. The complaints,
however, allege that these terms aren’t necessarily true. From nursery rhymes and
cartoons to toy ads and unboxing videos, it’s clear that all YouTube channels don’t appeal
exclusively to adults and teens. Despite the site’s counter-argument that they created
YouTube Kids for this reason, it doesn’t negate that numerous videos on the main website
are directed at children. All of these concerns and complaints are magnified by recent events
as well, such as the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal that saw the personal information
of millions of people taken and used for unauthorized political advertising.
6. FTC Workshop
On October 7, 2019, the FTC held a workshop concerning the Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act. Technology and privacy stakeholders were brought together to discuss potential
updates to the act, especially those regarding new services and technology - like sites that
host content from third parties or devices requiring voice activation. Over 30 child-directed
content creators, application developers, members of COPPA safe harbor, and privacy
advocates participated in presentations and panels that focused on improvements the FTC
could implement to provide top-tier protection for children without suppressing the modernization
of technology. Some of the things discussed during the workshop included expanding COPPA
to encompass teenagers, its enforcement concerning data security, improving the methods of obtaining
parental consent, the monetization of children’s data, the “actual knowledge” standard,
among many other topics. Considering the vast scope of COPPA’s existing regulations, talking
about growing them further is frightening to many website and online service operators
and content creators. For instance, the “actual knowledge” standard states that COPPA applies
to sites whose operators have “actual knowledge” that their service is collecting information
of kids under the age of 13. Since this has been too lenient in some cases and therefore
taken advantage of, the FTC was urged by speakers during the conference to hold the site managers
responsible when they deliberately overlook the age of their audience.
5. Rule Breakers
Remember in kindergarten when one kid acted up in class and everyone had to stay inside
for recess? The punishment of many for the misdeeds of a few is an ongoing pattern throughout
the world, and the internet is no exception. We already know why COPPA was put in place
to begin with - the unauthorized collection and use of children’s data. But, why does
it continue to be expanded on? Several website managers have violated the regulations, and
now the laws are being revised and enforced more efficiently. In 2004, UMG Recordings
Inc. was served a hefty $400,000 fine for promoting then-13-year-old Lil’ Romeo and
offering activities and games directed toward children on a website they were connected
to. Two years later, Xanga had to pay $1 million because they continually allowed kids under
13 to sign up without parental consent. Other violators include Bonzi Software, inMobi,
Kidswirl, and Skid-e-Kids. A whopping $5.7 million-dollar fine was given to ByteDance
in February 2019 because their widely-used TikTok application violated COPPA rules as
well. But, there’s a good reason many of these regulations are in place. Three Wildec
dating applications were removed from the Google and Apple app stores when the FTC determined
that children under 13 were allowed to register. They further discovered that Wildec had knowledge
of their underage users, which gave way to inappropriate association with minors.
4. Pricey Fine
It seems that as more websites violate COPPA the fines continue getting larger. One of
the biggest platforms on the planet for entertainment, knowledge, creativity, and expression is YouTube,
which is a subsidiary of Google LLC. But, even internet giants like Google and YouTube
must abide by the laws or face the consequences. The video-driven website was given the largest
fine to date by the FTC - $170 million. It was determined in September 2019 that YouTube
was in violation of COPPA, and the fine was only a portion of their settlement. How did
the site break the rules? The New York Attorney General and the FTC claimed that YouTube was
collecting the personal information of the audiences watching channels aimed at children
via the identifiers known as “cookies.” They alleged that the information was gathered
without parental consent and used to “deliver targeted ads to viewers of these channels,”
according to the FTC website. Joe Simmons, FTC Chairman, noted that YouTube bragged about
its popularity with kids to potential clients but would not acknowledge that numerous channels
were directed at children concerning COPPA’s rules. Most people know that creators on the
platform are given the option to monetize their videos by allowing YouTube to display
advertisements. Doing this creates revenue for YouTube and the channel owners. But, the
primary issue is the collection of data from children despite YouTube’s claim as a “general
audience” website. In addition to the fine, YouTube and Google must establish and maintain
a system that allows creators to identify whether or not their channels are directed
at children. Furthermore, YouTube must ensure that the channels are in compliance with COPPA,
inform the creators that the content aimed at kids could be subject to COPPA’s rules,
and provide yearly training about abiding by COPPA to their employees who deal directly
with channel owners.
3. Effects On Creators
The big question is “how will this affect creators?” Channel owners are having a difficult
time determining what is and isn’t child-directed content since the rules encompass a wide and
somewhat vague spectrum when it comes to labeling a site or service as “aimed at children.”
As we previously mentioned, using slang words like “whatever” or “cool,” animation,
or bright colors could all define a channel as kid-oriented. This makes things hard for
creators because they are being held responsible by the FTC for their content. As of January
2020, they will be tasked with clearly labeling videos as “child-oriented” if they are,
and videos that aren’t marked as such could result in the owners being substantially fined
up to $42,000 per video. For obvious reasons, this portion of the settlement has received
a lot of criticism. YouTube has refused to tell creators when to label their videos as
“child-oriented” and suggested consulting lawyers for assistance with determining if
their content appeals to children, making channel owners exclusively responsible for
complying with COPPA.
2. COPPA Criticisms
Unsurprisingly, this act has been the subject of criticism since it was established. Legal
experts and mass media have even claimed it to be unconstitutional and ineffective. In
2012, an Internet Safety Technical Task Force made up of experts from commercial organizations
and academic groups found that required age verification isn’t a good solution for privacy
and might even violate privacy in itself. It has also been argued that COPPA doesn’t
protect children from exploitative advertisements or stop them from lying about their age. Plus,
the monetary penalties COPPA can dish out ($40,000 per violation) could easily terminate
small businesses.
1. Complying With COPPA
So, how can YouTube creators abide by COPPA’s ever-growing list of regulations and avoid
considerable fines for accidentally mislabeling their videos? It seems that it can only be
done through extensive consideration of their content and thorough research of the FTC’s
expectations concerning COPPA. Channel owners will now need to determine if several things
are directed toward kids: visual content, subject matter, animation, music type, age
of models, presence of celebrities that appeal to children, language, advertising directed
toward kids, and evidence of the audience’s age group. Several examples are given on the
FTC website to help creators decide whether or not they need to label their videos or
which videos they need to classify as “directed toward children.” An example they give is:
“...if your videos are about traditionally adult activities like employment, finances,
politics, homeownership, home improvement, or travel…” then you’re most likely
not covered by COPPA. They also state on their site that simply because your video contains
vibrant colors or animations “doesn’t mean you’re automatically covered by COPPA.”
The FTC assures creators that they recognize “there can be animated programming that
appeals to everyone.” Nevertheless, channel owners are responsible for determining if
their content is directed toward kids.
What do you think about COPPA? Do you agree or disagree with any of their rules or have
ideas about how the law could be improved? Let us know in the comments below, and as
always, thanks for watching!