Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) is a United States federal law, located at 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506 (Pub. L. 105–277 (text) (PDF), 112 Stat. 2681-728, enacted October 21, 1998).
| Acronyms (colloquial) | COPPA |
|---|---|
| Enacted by | the 105th United States Congress |
| Effective | April 21, 2000 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 105-277 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
| Youth rights |
|---|
|
The act, effective April 21, 2000, applies to the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction about children under 13 years of age, including children outside the U.S. if the website or service is U.S.-based. It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online, including restrictions on the marketing of those under 13.
Although children under 13 can legally give out personal information with their parents' permission, many websites—particularly social media sites, but also other sites that collect most personal info—disallow children under 13 from using their services altogether due to the cost and work involved in complying with the law.
An updated version of COPPA, the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act, informally called COPPA 2.0, has been introduced in the 118th Congress in 2023, effectively raising the age covered by COPPA from 13 to 16 years.