SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) –
In a move to scale back tech giants’ information collection practices, senators have proposed a law to replace online privacy guidelines for children in the United States. If passed, tech corporations and data agents would not be able to collect records on teens aged 13 to 15 without their consent.
The bill, introduced by senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo) on Tuesday, seeks to amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to protect the gathering, use, and disclosure of private data of children and minors.
The law proposes a “Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Minors” that makes it unlawful for websites, apps, and online services to accumulate private facts of a minor. A ban on focused marketing directed at youngsters and a prohibition on commercials focused on race, socioeconomic elements, mental profiles, and location information of children up to 15.
“In 2019, children and young people’s every pass is monitored online, and even the youngest are bombarded with marketing after they log on to do their homework, talk to friends, and play video games,” said Senator Markey, original House author of COPPA, which took impact in April 2000. “We must bypass bipartisan and bicameral COPPA 2 in the twenty-first century. Zero regulation that puts children’s well-being on the pinnacle of Congress’s precedence listing.”
The bill also proposes prohibiting the sale of internet-linked devices aimed at children and minors until they meet strong cybersecurity requirements. Manufacturers of such gadgets might need to include on their packaging a privacy dashboard detailing how records are amassed, transmitted, retained, used, and guarded.
“Big tech businesses understand an excessive amount of approximately our kids, and at the same time, as parents, we know too little about what they’re doing with our children’s private records. It’s time to maintain them responsibly,” stated Senator Hawley in a press statement. This year, TikTok, the famous video social networking app, paid $5.7 million to the FTC over COPPA violations in overdue February.
