FTC Will Not Bring COPPA Cases Over Personal Information Collected Solely for Age Verification
On February 25, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement announcing that the Commission will not bring an enforcement action under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA Rule) against certain website and online service operators that collect, use, and disclose personal information for the sole purpose of determining a user's age via age verification technologies.
The COPPA Rule requires operators of commercial websites or online services directed to children under 13, and operators with actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from a child, to provide notice of their information practices to parents and to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information collected from a child under 13. The Commission said that since COPPA was enacted in 1998, children's use of internet-connected technologies has exploded, and some states have started requiring some websites and online services to use age verification mechanisms, but some of those technologies may require the collection of personal information from children, raising questions about whether such activities could violate the COPPA Rule. The Commission held a workshop on age verification technologies in January.
Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said age verification technologies are some of the most child-protective technologies to emerge in decades, and that the statement incentivizes operators to use these innovative tools, empowering parents to protect their children online.
The enforcement discretion is conditional and applies only to operators of general audience and mixed audience sites and services: information collected for age verification purposes must not be used or disclosed for any purpose except determining a user's age; it must not be retained longer than necessary and must be deleted promptly thereafter; it may be disclosed only to third parties the operator has taken reasonable steps to determine are capable of maintaining the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the information, including by obtaining written assurances; operators must provide clear notice to parents and children of the information collected; they must employ reasonable security safeguards; and they must take reasonable steps to determine that any product, service, method, or third party used for age verification is likely to provide reasonably accurate results as to the user's age.
The Commission said it intends to initiate a review of the COPPA Rule to address age verification mechanisms. The policy statement will remain effective until the Commission publishes final rule amendments on this issue in the Federal Register, or until otherwise withdrawn. The Commission vote to issue the policy statement was 2-0. The lead staffer on this matter is Manmeet Dhindsa from the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Source: Federal Trade Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国华盛顿宪法大道与第七街交口的联邦贸易委员会总部 Apex 大楼（资料照片）。Hkeely 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Apex Building, headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission, at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street in Washington, D.C. (file photo). Photo by Hkeely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
