United States Senators, Mr. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut and Mr. Edward Markey from Massachusetts, introduced a new bill referred to as the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act (the “KIDS Act”). One of the Senator’s introducing the KIDS Act, Mr. Edward Markey, was the co-author of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The KIDS Act seeks to include noteworthy advertising rules and create new protections for children online, specifically for online users under the age of 16. The proposed advertising rules within the KIDS Act are to ban websites from: (1) exposing young online users to advertisements “with embedded interactive elements”; (2) recommending any content involving alcohol, nicotine, or tobacco to young online users; and (3) recommending content that includes influencer marketing, like unboxing videos, or host-selling to young online users. Additionally, the KIDS Act seeks to prohibit certain online features to protect children, like prohibiting...

Washington D.C.—April 4, 2019—Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass) recently announced that he is planning to introduce the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act (KIDS). This act is designed to combat “the ‘commercialization’ of children’s online lives” by asking these online platforms to “tweak their algorithms to ensure harmful content does not end up in front of children.” Furthermore, the act would “limit the amount and types of advertisements online platforms are allowed to target toward children and prohibit content that blurs the lines between content and advertisement.”  Senator Markey believes that some websites and apps are built in ways that harm children. The KIDS act would “address ‘manipulative design’ on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram that seek to keep children online longer, such as YouTube’s auto-play and push notification from children’s gaming apps.” Under this legislation, online platforms that do not follow the bill’s guidelines would be subject to fines and s...

Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote a letter on Tuesday urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate “regarding the manipulative marketing practices by apps designed for children”. This comes after the release of a research study, which indicated that popular apps for children in the iOS and Android systems are filled with advertisements which prompt and encourage young children to make in-app purchases, collect their personal data, all the while distracting them from the in-game experience. The Senators emphasized the FTC’s statutory obligation to protect consumers’ welfare from “unfair and deceptive” marketing practices. The letter also states that “[c]hildren should be able to entertain themselves and play without being bombarded by promotional messages, which young people may not be able to accurately assess and identify as marketing….As parents increasingly permit kids to engage in online games and apps for entertain...

October 24, 2018-The Institute of Technology Law and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center is holding a forum titled “COPPA at 20: Protecting Children’s Privacy in the New Digital Era”. The forum is composed of panelists involving children’s privacy advocates and policymakers, with the FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter delivering the keynote address, and Senator Ed Markey delivering the closing keynote speech. The forum is comprised of three panels, dealing with the evolving technological landscape and introduction of connected toys and how it affects COPPA compliance; issues in interpreting the elements of COPPA; and enforcement of COPPA through self-regulatory means and applying Safe Harbor provisions. CARU’s Director, Dona Fraser, is part of the forum as a panelist and will be speaking alongside other practitioners. Follow along on Twitter as we live-tweet at #COPPAat20 or watch the live stream on  Georgetown University Law Center 's website.  

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...

A group of democratic senators, led by Senator Ed Markey are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to leave its kids television mandates in place. Senator Markey believes the 'Kid Vid' rules still remain important, especially for those families who rely on free broadcast television for educational content and cannot afford access to internet with speeds necessary for streaming online content. To read more on this topic, click here .