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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed amendments to enhance the current online protections for children under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

FTC Chair Lina Khan emphasized the importance of these changes, stating, “Kids must be able to play and learn online without being endlessly tracked by companies looking to hoard and monetize their personal data.” The proposal aims to restrict websites from using and disclosing children’s personal information.

Under the proposed revisions, stricter rules would be enforced, including additional parental consent requirements for disclosing a child’s information to third-party advertisers and reinforced prohibitions on collecting personal data as a condition for participation. The changes also suggest prohibiting websites from using contact information and identifiers to send push notifications to children and implementing stronger data security requirements.

Khan highlighted the urgency of these updates by saying, “The proposed changes to COPPA are much-needed, especially in an era where online tools are essential for navigating daily life—and where firms are deploying increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil children.” She added that the proposal would place “affirmative obligations on service providers and prohibits them from outsourcing their responsibilities to parents.”