WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) released the following joint statement after the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce did not take up their bipartisan and bicameral Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) at its markup as a standalone bill:
“As our nation suffers a devastating youth mental health crisis, we are disappointed the House Energy and Commerce Committee did not vote on COPPA 2.0 as a standalone bill. Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation was intensely vetted, has strong support on both sides of the aisle, and was passed unanimously by the Senate Commerce Committee. The House Energy and Commerce Committee should have advanced our well supported and desperately needed bill as a standalone measure that sends a strong message to Big Tech that kids’ and teens’ privacy is our priority. Our nation’s youth and their parents deserve help now.”
Background
In 1998, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which instituted basic privacy protections, including notice and parental consent requirements that protect users under 13 years old. 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.
Since Cassidy and Markey introduced COPPA 2.0 last year, there’s been a groundswell of support from colleagues and organizations. COPPA 2.0 would update online data privacy rules for the 21st century to ensure children and teenagers are protected online. The legislation unanimously passed the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in July 2023. Companion legislation in the U.S. House was also introduced by U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI-05) and Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) this spring.
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