{"id":2294,"date":"2023-04-27T12:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T18:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/?post_type=resource&p=2294"},"modified":"2025-05-07T11:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T16:51:09","slug":"why-childrens-privacy-regulations-top-of-mind-for-businesses","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/trustarc.com\/resource\/why-childrens-privacy-regulations-top-of-mind-for-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Children\u2019s Privacy Regulations Should Be Top of Mind for Businesses Everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Why Children\u2019s Privacy Regulations Should Be Top of Mind for Businesses Everywhere<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\t
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If you\u2019ve been keeping up with the latest privacy regulations for children\u2019s online safety you know that protecting kids online is a rapidly emerging trend in privacy law. Children\u2019s privacy regulations are not new. However, they\u2019ve come a long way since the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was passed in 1974 and the Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)<\/a> in 1998.<\/p>\n

Children have been using the internet daily to learn and entertain themselves for decades. Yet the necessary safeguards to protect kids\u2019 privacy are missing from most websites, apps, and other technologies. Recently, the UK Age Appropriate Design Code Act 2021<\/a> set out to change this and paved the way for new legislation based on higher standards for applying data protection laws to children and digital services.<\/p>\n

These standards apply not only to U.K. websites but to any website or app accessible by children in the UK \u2013 whether it\u2019s meant for children to use or not. The UK Age Appropriate Design Code became effective on 9\/2\/20 with a 12-month transition period.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the UK, California was the first U.S. state to pass an Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AB-2273)<\/a> to protect children\u2019s privacy. Like the UK code, it\u2019s designed to ensure technology companies proactively take a privacy-by-design and default approach to protect children\u2019s privacy and safety when creating or updating online services, products, or features that children will likely access.<\/p>\n

The gap in U.S. children\u2019s privacy regulations<\/h2>\n

Unlike the U.S. Children\u2019s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)<\/a>, which provides protection for children aged 13 or under, the CA Kids Code is designed to protect all children under 18 in California. Yet there is no federal regulation to protect children between the ages of 13 and 18.<\/p>\n

Despite existing legal protections, Meta continues its plans<\/a> to let American and Canadian teenagers into its virtual reality app<\/a>, Horizon Worlds. The app currently allows people 17 and up to physically interact with each other in virtual spaces resembling real life.<\/p>\n

Meta claims it will use privacy by default guidelines to protect children, but this is one of many platforms to watch. Gaming platforms and apps have consistently violated children\u2019s privacy regulations<\/a> such as COPPA.<\/p>\n

Protecting kids online: The latest design codes and regulations to consider<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s more happening with children\u2019s privacy regulations than the two Acts in the UK and California. Regulators, including the FTC, have warned that they will focus on children\u2019s privacy. All 5 FTC commissioners<\/a> said they would begin to crack down on companies that illegally surveil children online.<\/p>\n

While some geographies, such as Australia<\/a> and Canada, don\u2019t discriminate between children and adults regarding their data protection laws, the GDPR only protects children\u2019s information until they are 16 years old.<\/p>\n

As recently as October 2022, members of Congress have begged the FTC<\/a> to make updating COPPA a priority. Although it protects the children\u2019s privacy for those under 13, it hasn\u2019t been updated since 2013 and does not cover information collected from adults that may pertain to children.<\/p>\n

But because updating COPPA failed to make it to Congress\u2019 2023 fiscal plan<\/a>, many states have taken it upon themselves to enact legislation to protect children\u2019s privacy better online. States with active children\u2019s privacy regulations in 2023 include:<\/p>\n