The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is seeking public comment on a new proposed method for collecting verifiable parental consent. Assert ID, Inc., has applied for Commission approval under the FTC's updated Children's Online Privacy Protection Act's (COPPA) new system where companies are permitted to seek permission for new methods of obtaining parental consent, in addition to the acceptable methods already laid out on the rule. As per the updated rule, the FTC is now seeking public comment about AssertID's new proposal as to whether this method is already covered by the existing methods already set out or whether the new method meets the rule's standards and ensure that the person providing consent is indeed the child's parent. To read AssertID Inc.'s application click here . The Federal Register Notice is available here .

Credit: James Martin/ CNET In anticipation of launching iOS 7, Apple has revamped its App Store Guidelines and Apple is rumored to now plan to allow children under 13 to sign up for their own iTunes accounts so long as they are approved through an educational institution. Apple has increased its efforts to become entwined with education, recently signing a $30 million contract with the L.A. Unified Schools. Allowing younger kids to have their own accounts will put the pressure on Apple to ensure that it complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its new requirements. Check out this article to find out how Apple plans to put measures in place to protect its new class of child account holders.

Image via Business2Community Are you worried about what your children are watching online? Would you like to know what they're watching before you leave the room? Well, you may be in luck: YouTube and other online video-sharing sites plan to implement age ratings under a government-backed plan that they hope will protect kids from inappropriate violent and sexually explicit content. The government is still in the process of figuring out how this would work but they have formed a working group that they hope will sort it out. To read more about this new rating system, click here .