Recent research commissioned by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy allege that the Echo Dot Kids Edition's privacy practices violate the  Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law protecting the personal information of people under 13. The industry groups lodged the complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) arguing that amongst other things, Amazon fails to obtain proper parental consent to use children's data. You can read a copy of the Echo Kids Privacy complaint online. 

Commemorating the twentieth year since the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was signed into law on October 21, 1998, the Hill released an op-ed reflecting on the Act’s passage as the only existing Federal privacy law last week. Kathryn C. Montgomery and Jeff Chester, the writers of the op-ed, advocated for COPPA’s enactment and spearheaded the campaign to have it signed into law. Chester is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy, while Montgomery is Professor Emerita at American University’s School of Communication in Washington D.C. The piece presented four key takeaways that the authors believe may be helpful in future policy and legislative efforts regarding online privacy. First, because the Internet’s business model is centered on collection of personal information to be used for marketing purposes, government regulation was necessary, especially in protecting children’s privacy. Second, as advocates and policymakers pushed for privacy ...

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) created in 1998, Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts , the Act’s principal sponsor, joined key representatives from various child advocacy, consumer, and privacy groups at a public forum on Wednesday, October 17.   Sen. Markey gave a speech to commemorate the passage of the Act, and to suggest how it should move forward. Sponsored by the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), the event highlighted Markey’s speech which included suggestions for the federal government to draft a children’s online privacy constitution for basic rights. Markey also shared his strategy to push the age of children under COPPA to 16, aiming to increase efforts in protecting children after the digital boom. The Senator proposed the creation of a commission and funding research worth $95 million dollars on the impact of technology on children and their social and mental well-being. Sen. Marke...

Complaints were filed to federal officials on Tuesday November 24, 2015 by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Center for Digital Democracy. The complaints were made to the Federal Trade Commission and urge them to take action against YouTube Kids. The complaints argue that the channel is too commercialized and is not held to the same standards as cable television. To read the full complaint, visit the Commercial Free Childhood Online .