In a report to Congress, the Federal Trade Commission states the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the FTC’s COPPA Rule, "have been effective in protecting the privacy and security of young children online without unduly burdening Web site operators."
The report, which was accumulated during the past five years, does not recommend any changes to COPPA or to the commission’s rule, but it does note that "because widespread age verification technology is not available, age falsification remains a risk on general audience Web sites not intended for children’s use."
The report also states "there is concern that younger children are migrating to more general-audience websites, such as social-networking sites, that are not intended for their use but nonetheless attract their presence," said FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras. "There is potential for age falsification on general-audience websites—as well as liability under COPPA—should these sites obtain actual knowledge that they are collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children online."
"I don’t think the adult industry could specifically do anything to ease concerns over age verification, except to make clear that we do not target children and they are not an audience in which we profit from at all," said Alison Vivas, president of TopBucks/PinkVisual. "With that said, I also believe the industry could help improve COPPA if the government chose to establish an effective working relationship with adult industry leaders. Our industry is full of very intelligent people who have a deep understanding of the Internet, e-commerce, and security. Working effectively with these industry leaders could probably result in a more successful method to protect children without burdening website owners in any industry or any country. The most effective age-verification processes would need to start before someone even accesses the Internet, possibly even as early as when the [computer, phone, or other product] is purchased."
The report also notes that these trends highlight the need for supplemental solutions, such as age-verification technologies, that can provide additional security measures for children online. The report goes on to explain that the challenges for the FTC, as well as for parents and others, likely will increase as the means by which children access the Internet increasingly move from standalone computers to mobile devices.
Congress enacted COPPA in 1998 to address privacy and security risks created when children under 13 years of age are online. COPPA imposes requirements on operators of websites and online services directed to children, as well as other operators with actual knowledge that they have collected personal information from children. The FTC Rule implementing COPPA’s requirements became effective in April 2000.
