Question 120 - CIPP-US discussion

Based on the incident, the FTC's enforcement actions against the marketer would most likely include the violation of collecting information from a child under the age of thirteen without obtaining verifiable parental consent, as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. The COPPA Rule applies to operators of commercial websites and online services (including mobile apps) that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13, and operators of general audience websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13. The COPPA Rule also applies to websites or online services that are directed to children under 13 and that collect personal information from users of any age. The COPPA Rule defines personal information to include full name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and other identifiers that permit the physical or online contacting of a specific individual. The COPPA Rule requires operators to post a clear and comprehensive online privacy policy describing their information practices for personal information collected online from children; provide direct notice to parents and obtain verifiable parental consent, with limited exceptions, before collecting personal information online from children; give parents the choice of consenting to the operator's collection and internal use of a child's information, but prohibiting the operator from disclosing that information to third parties (unless disclosure is integral to the site or service, in which case, this must be made clear to parents); provide parents access to their child's personal information to review and/or have the information deleted; give parents the opportunity to prevent further use or online collection of a child's personal information; maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of information they collect from children, including by taking reasonable steps to release such information only to parties capable of maintaining its confidentiality and security; and retain personal information collected online from a child for only as long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected and delete the information using reasonable measures to protect against its unauthorized access or use. The FTC has the authority to seek civil penalties and injunctive relief for violations of the COPPA Rule. The FTC has brought numerous enforcement actions against operators for violating the COPPA Rule, resulting in millions of dollars in penalties and orders to delete illegally collected data.References: Children's Privacy | Federal Trade Commission Kids' Privacy (COPPA) | Federal Trade Commission FTC Is Escalating Scrutiny of Dark Patterns, Children's Privacy FTC to Crack Down on Companies that Illegally Surveil Children Learning Online FTC Takes Action Against Company for Collecting Children's Personal Information Without Parental Permission [IAPP CIPP/US Certified Information Privacy Professional Study Guide], Chapter 5, pages 165-168.