COPPA Scope and Applicability for Marketers
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act regulates the online collection of personal information from children under 13, imposing strict requirements on websites, apps, and online services directed to children or that have actual knowledge of collecting information from children. COPPA applies to operators of commercial websites and online services that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children, including name, email address, physical address, phone number, Social Security number, photos, videos, audio recordings, geolocation, and persistent identifiers like cookies when used to track activity across different sites. Marketing teams must determine whether their digital properties or advertising activities fall under COPPA's scope — a website is directed to children based on its subject matter, visual content, use of animated characters, age of models, language, music, activities, and advertising on or about the site. The FTC's 2024 proposed COPPA updates would expand protections and increase penalties, signaling continued regulatory focus on children's digital privacy.
Verifiable Parental Consent Requirements
COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13, and the FTC specifies acceptable consent methods based on the type of information collected and its intended use. Acceptable consent methods include signed parental consent forms returned via mail, fax, or email, credit card transactions verified as belonging to a parent, parent phone calls to trained personnel, video conference verification, government ID verification, and knowledge-based authentication questions. For internal use only (information not disclosed to third parties), email consent with delayed confirmation may suffice — send a confirming email to the parent requiring a response. The FTC evaluates consent methods based on whether they provide reasonable assurance that the person giving consent is actually the child's parent or guardian. Implement age-gating mechanisms that prevent children from simply entering a false birthdate by using neutral age-screening that does not incentivize lying about age. Document all consent records including the method used, the specific information consented to, the date obtained, and the identity verification performed.
Data Collection Limitations for Children's Services
COPPA mandates strict limitations on data collection from children that fundamentally restrict marketing data strategies targeting young audiences. Collect only personal information reasonably necessary for the specific activity the child is participating in — do not require children to provide more information than needed as a condition of participation. Do not condition access to games, activities, or content on the child providing unnecessary personal information. Retain children's personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected, then delete it securely. Provide parents with the ability to review personal information collected from their children, request deletion, and refuse further collection. Implement reasonable security measures to protect children's information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These restrictions effectively prohibit behavioral tracking, profiling, and data-driven personalization techniques commonly used in digital marketing when applied to children's data. Marketing teams must build alternative engagement strategies that function without collecting personal information from children.
Advertising and Targeting Restrictions for Children
Advertising directed to children faces both COPPA data restrictions and additional self-regulatory standards that limit targeting, content, and disclosure practices. COPPA prohibits using children's personal information for behavioral advertising — you cannot track a child's browsing behavior across sites to serve targeted ads. Contextual advertising based on page content rather than user data remains permissible and represents the primary advertising model for children's content. The Children's Advertising Review Unit, a self-regulatory body, establishes additional guidelines covering advertising content, disclosures, and endorsements directed to children, requiring clear separation between advertising and content, age-appropriate disclosures, and restrictions on persuasion techniques that exploit children's developmental vulnerabilities. Digital advertising platforms including Google, Meta, and TikTok have implemented age-based restrictions limiting advertising targeting for users identified as minors. Your [compliance services](/services/marketing) team should review all advertising campaigns that may reach children against both COPPA requirements and industry self-regulatory standards before deployment.
COPPA Safe Harbor Programs and Compliance Certification
COPPA Safe Harbor programs provide an alternative compliance path where FTC-approved industry groups establish self-regulatory guidelines that meet or exceed COPPA requirements and monitor participant compliance. Participation in an FTC-approved Safe Harbor program provides a degree of protection from FTC enforcement by demonstrating that the organization is subject to an approved self-regulatory framework with active compliance monitoring. Current FTC-approved Safe Harbor programs include kidSAFE Seal Program, CARU's COPPA Safe Harbor Program, ESRB Privacy Certified, Aristotle Integrity, and TRUSTe/TrustArc Children's Privacy Program. Each program establishes compliance requirements, reviews participant privacy practices, conducts compliance assessments, handles complaints, and reports violations to the FTC. Safe Harbor participation does not guarantee immunity from enforcement but demonstrates good faith compliance efforts and provides ongoing expert guidance. Evaluate Safe Harbor programs based on their assessment methodology, industry recognition, cost structure, and the operational support they provide for maintaining ongoing compliance.
Emerging Youth Privacy Regulations Beyond COPPA
The children's privacy regulatory landscape is expanding rapidly beyond COPPA, with new laws addressing teen privacy, age verification, and platform design obligations that marketing teams must monitor. The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, modeled after the UK's Age-Appropriate Design Code, requires businesses likely to be accessed by children under 18 to conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments, default to high privacy settings, and prohibit using children's information in ways detrimental to their wellbeing. Multiple US states have enacted or proposed legislation extending privacy protections to teenagers aged 13-17, creating new consent requirements and data processing limitations beyond COPPA's under-13 focus. The EU Digital Services Act imposes additional obligations for platforms accessible to minors, including prohibition of targeted advertising based on profiling of minors. Age verification technologies are evolving to meet regulatory requirements without creating new privacy risks — methods range from self-declaration to AI-based age estimation and identity document verification. Marketing teams targeting youth audiences should build compliance frameworks flexible enough to accommodate these rapidly evolving requirements across jurisdictions.