FTC Proposes Significant and Sweeping Changes to COPPA and Requests Public Comment

On January 11, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NPRM”) seeking to update the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) Rule in the Federal Register.  Among other things, the proposed changes would require more granular privacy notices, require fairly detailed identification of, and parental consent to, third-party data sharing (including targeted advertising), expand the scope of personal information subject to COPPA, make it easier for parents to provide consent via text message, clarify various requirements around EdTech, including school authorization for parental consent, and impose significant new programmatic information security and data retention requirements.

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UK and Australian Governments Sign “world-first” Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding

On 20 February 2024, the UK Government and the Australian Federal Government co-signed a historic Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signifying the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to help boost their respective online safety regimes. Notably, this is the first arrangement of its kind, with the MoU intending to encompass a wide range of digital online safety and security issues. These include illegal content, child safety, age assurance, technology facilitated gender-based violence, and addressing harms caused by rapidly evolving technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence.

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UK’s OfCom to Publish Guidance on Illegal Content Risk Assessments in Light of Online Safety Bill

The UK’s Online Safety Bill (“Bill”), once legislated, will impose duties of care on providers of digital services, social media platforms and other online services to make them responsible for content generated and shared by their users and to mitigate the risk of harm arising from illegal content, and if services are deemed accessible by children, a duty to protect children from harm. As currently drafted, the Bill applies to any service or site that has users in the UK, or targets the UK as a market, even if it is not based in the country. The Bill is currently at the Committee Stage of the legislative process. Although the Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent during 2023, the timeline as to when the provisions will come into force is still unclear.

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The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Dramatically Expands Business Obligations

On September 2, 2022, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (the “Act”) (effective July 1, 2024) was passed by the California legislature, and on September 15, 2022 was signed into law by Governor Newsom.  This Act dramatically expands business obligations and will force entities that provide an online service, product, or feature that is “likely to be accessed by children” (“Product”) to implement stringent privacy settings for users under 18. It aligns in many respects with the United Kingdom’s Age Appropriate Design Code, which passed in 2020. Together, these laws represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape of children’s digital services.

The overarching policy of the Act is to require such entities to prioritize the best interests of children when developing and implementing their services.  The Act implements this policy through a number of stringent requirements, including using language in privacy notices that is age-appropriate, undertaking physical and mental well-being impact assessments for existing and new products and services, and implementing stringent requirements on such entities use of the data as a default.

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Federal Trade Commission Hosts Panels Related to Consumer Privacy and Data Security at PrivacyCon

This summer, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) hosted its sixth annual PrivacyCon, an event focused on the latest research and trends related to consumer privacy and data security. This years’ event was divided into six panels: Algorithms; Privacy Considerations and Understandings; Adtech; Internet of Things; Privacy-Children and Teens; and, Privacy and the Pandemic. Welcoming attendees and kicking off the event, Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter called for minimization of data abuses and for a move away from the notice and consent model of privacy in favor of data minimization. PrivacyCon topics are selected by the FTC and often seen as an indication of enforcement priorities. (more…)

Long-Awaited Online Safety Bill is Introduced by the UK Government to Combat “Harmful” Online Content

Two years after the UK Government first put forward its intention to introduce a new regime to address illegal and harmful content online, the UK Government published the Online Safety Bill (“Bill”) on 12 May 2021. The Bill imposes duties of care on providers of digital services, social media platforms and other online services to make them responsible for content generated and shared by their users and to mitigate the risk of harm arising from illegal content (e.g., by minimising the spread of such content). The Bill also aims to ensure that users are able to express themselves freely online and requires platforms to consider the importance of freedom of expression when fulfilling their duties.

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