By: Y Michael Yin, JD, 伍德拉夫家庭律师事务所
15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506.
Children these days have more access to the rest of the world than ever before. The internet 和 mobile technologies have inarguably changed how we interact with each other. 这种访问是一把双刃剑. 一方面, we saw how amazing the technology can be when it is utilized to conduct virtual classrooms 和 meetings during the ongoing COVID-19 p和emic. 另一方面, we have seen how pervasive targeted advertisements 和 shoddily written news have shaped our environment 和 our social discourse. What are some of the protections in place to prevent our children from being those targeted? And 什么 does this mean 因为你的家庭法律案件 in Guilford County – or anywhere in the world?
什么是COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was an act passed to prevent the unauthorized collection of personal information of children under 13 years of age by websites directed at children, or any website that has actual knowledge that it collects personal information from children.
网站收集(法案涵盖的)什么??
电子邮件地址, 物理地址, 姓和名, 电话号码, 社会安全号码, any identifier that the Federal Trade Commission determines permits the physical or online contacting of a specific individual, 和/or information concerning the child or the parents of that child that combines with an identifier describing anything listed above.
网站有权收集什么?
COPPA requires that any website directed at children or known to be 使用d by children give notice to parents of 什么 information is collected, 这些信息将如何使用, 以及信息泄露的方式. COPPA also requires that websites obtain verifiable parental consent before the collection, 使用, 和 disclosure of a child’s personal information.
这怎么可能做到呢? Notice is usually posted under a website/company’s 隐私政策 - yes, 那本几乎没人会读的书. 至于同意, unfortunately the text of the act itself does not give specific direction as to how parental consent should be obtained, just that the request for consent be reasonable in terms of the technological environment. 直到今天, 一些例子包括年龄验证, 信用卡号, 电子邮件验证, 然后打个电话确认一下. 每个网站都有自己的方法.
并不总是需要征得同意. One-time collections of email addresses or other contact information—which will be deleted later—和 collections of email addresses 和 contact information for the purpose of obtaining consent do not require prior consent. Any information collected for the safety 和 security of the child or the website is also permitted.
What does this mean to you as a parent 和 to your family law case?
意识是第一要务. Websites that are directed towards children (or know that children access them) must give notice to when, 什么, 以及信息是如何收集的. 知道, you ought to know whether or not you are accepting a particular website’s collection 和 使用 of personal information. If you wish to be more diligent in your child’s online life, it means actively reading a website’s privacy policy.
其次是你可以采取的行动. 给予或拒绝父母的同意. 此外, COPPA requires those websites that collect information from children to allow their parents to: 1) obtain a description of the specific types of personal information collected; 2) ref使用 those websites any further 使用 和 collection of a child’s personal information; 和 3) obtain any records of personal information collected from their child. 最后, 因为你的家庭法律案件, have a plan for how to address the online realm in your custody arrangement. If the topic is important to you, make sure that co-parents are involved in the child’s virtual life. 询问孩子经常访问哪些网站. (YouTube, for example, was recently fined for COPPA violations.) Read those privacy policies to see if they have posted whether they collect information from children. 寻找如何给予同意. Discuss whether those websites are worth using 和 consenting to, once you underst和 their collection 和 使用 of personal information. And be ready to make dem和s to stop collection if you see fit.