WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) issued the following statement after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that the Senate would vote on their bicameral Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) this week:
“For far too long, as children and teens suffered from a devastating mental health crisis, driven, in part, by Big Tech, Congress sat back and did nothing. That ends this week when the Senate votes on COPPA 2.0. Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation has been intensely vetted, has strong support on both sides of the aisle, and directly targets Big Tech’s underlying incentive to keep young people scrolling, clicking, and liking for as long as possible. With this vote, the Senate has a critical opportunity to send a message to Big Tech and put an end to the relentless targeting and tracking of kids and teens online. We commend Leader Schumer for taking up this legislation and urge all our colleagues to vote yes.”
COPPA 2.0 modernizes and strengthens the only online privacy law for children, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Congress passed COPPA in 1998 to institute basic privacy protections for users under age 13, including notice and parental consent requirements. While COPPA took major steps towards safeguarding children’s personal information on the internet, the law is overdue for an update in light of major changes in the online landscape. In particular, COPPA 2.0 would:
- Build on COPPA by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 16 years old without their consent;
- Ban targeted advertising to children and teens;
- Revise COPPA’s “actual knowledge” standard to close the loophole that allows covered platforms to ignore kids and teens on their site;
- Create an “Eraser Button” by requiring companies to permit users to eliminate personal information from a child or teen when technologically feasible; and
- Establish data minimization rules to prohibit the excessive collection of children and teens’ data.
COPPA 2.0 is supported by over 100 organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, Center for Digital Democracy, Common Sense Media, Design It For Us, Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, & Action, Fairplay, National Education Association, National Parent Teacher Association, and U.S. PIRG.
Background
In May 2023, Cassidy and Markey reintroduced the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), legislation that would update online data privacy rules for the 21st century to ensure children and teenagers are protected online. In July 2023, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously passed COPPA 2.0. In February 2024, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, agreed to cosponsor COPPA 2.0. In April 2024, Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI-05) and Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) introduced the House companion to COPPA 2.0.
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