Privacy Law Matters Blog

By Hansenard Piou On October 13th, 2025, Governor Newsom signed the Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043) into law. Introduced by co-authors Assembly Member Buffy Wicks and Senator Tom Umberg, the law establishes age-assurance requirements for computer and mobile operating system providers and app stores as well as app developers with an aim to protect children’s…

By Susan Hintze, Emily Litka, and Amy Lanchester This is Part 2 in a series of blog posts about the 2025 COPPA Final Rule. It provides a comprehensive review of the revised definitional changes to the Rule.  Subsequent posts in the coming days will delve more deeply into the direct and online notice, parental consent, and…

By Susan Hintze and Emily LitkaThis is Part 1 in a series of blog posts about the 2025 COPPA Final Rule. It provides a high-level overview of the Final Rule. Subsequent posts in the coming days will delve more deeply into individual aspects of the Final Rule and FTC comments, the issues raised, and implications…

By Emily Litka On July 9, 2024, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office (LA DA) reached a settlement with NGL Labs, the maker of the “NGL: ask me anything” app and its co-founders. The complaint alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), the Children’s Online Privacy…

By Amy Lanchester On May 22nd, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed order against Edmodo, LLC (“Edmodo”), a California-based education technology provider, for allegedly violating the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA Rule") by illegally collecting the information of children and using that information for advertising, and for allegedly violating Section…

By Sheila SokolowskiOn May 19, 2022, the FTC issued a stern warning to ed-tech providers regarding compliance with COPPA suggesting enhanced enforcement in this area. Citing “the steady proliferation of technologies that allow, and business models that depend on, the online collection and monetization of consumers’ personal information” and “the development of ever more sophisticated…

By Smriti ChandrashekarOn October 23, 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued guidance on the online collection of certain audio voice recordings from children under the age of 13.  The guidance, in the form of an “enforcement policy statement” discusses the application of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) to such recordings.  In…

By Carolyn KrolOn June 21, 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published an update to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“COPPA”) compliance plan for businesses. The FTC Business Blog describes the update as a reflection of the developments in the marketplace, such as internet-connected toys. The compliance plan provides businesses with a step-by-step…

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has updated its Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) FAQs.  Under the COPPA Rule an operator must obtain verifiable consent from a parent before collecting any personal information from a child, which the FTC defines as under the age of 13.  See 16 C.F.R. § 312.5(c).  The update provides additional guidance in three areas: 1.…