Give parents “direct notice” before collecting information from children under 13.Post a “clear and comprehensive” online-privacy policy.Among other things, COPPA-covered operators must: Operators of commercial websites, online services, and mobile apps that are directed at children under 13 and “collect, use, or disclose personal information” from those kids.Īnd operators of websites and online services that are for a general audience but have “actual knowledge” that they are collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13.ĬOPPA generally does not apply directly to state government agencies, schools, or nonprofits. The commission put its first COPPA-related rules in place in 2000, and amended them in 2013. The law requires the Federal Trade Commission to “issue and enforce regulations concerning children’s online privacy,” according to the FTC’s frequently-asked-questions page (which you might want to bookmark). The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act was enacted by Congress in 1998. In the meantime, what do school boards, superintendents, principals, teachers, parents, and companies serving the K-12 market need to know?Įducation Week turned to federal officials and documents, education law experts, and leaders in the field of student-data privacy to get their advice. Department of Education may be gearing up to jointly issue a formal new document with more answers, the commission doesn’t “currently have a timetable for release of additional business guidance,” according to FTC staff.
In an emailed response to questions from Education Week, FTC staff members provided clarification and new insights on a number of key areas that have had both schools and vendors worried.īut despite whispers in the field that the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. “That is not without risk, and COPPA has a whole lot of gray area that gives school attorneys pause.” “The FTC has decided, not based on law or regulation, but as a practical reality, that schools can give consent on behalf of parents,” Trainor said. Trainor, the director of the Council of School Attorneys for the National School Boards Association.
Those dynamics have opened up multiple cans of worms, said Sonja H. And it’s clear that the law places significant indirect burdens on schools and educators. In some cases, companies may try to shift some of the burden of COPPA compliance away from themselves and onto schools. The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces COPPA, has said that schools can, in many situations, stand in for parents and let companies collect information from young children. But as the digital revolution has moved into the classroom, schools have increasingly been put in the middle of the relationship between vendors and parents.
This law directly regulates companies, not schools.
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