The cost for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), intended to ensure parents are informed about, and can control, the online collection of personal information (PI) from their children under age thirteen, has been steadily rising, and companies subject to the law should take heed. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a record-setting $5.7 million settlement with the Shanghai-based mobile app company Musical.ly (now operating as “TikTok”) for a myriad of COPPA violations, including failure to obtain parental consent and failure to properly delete children’s PI upon a parent’s request.
At the Intersection of Technology, Law, and Business