COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)

A U.S. federal law enacted in 1998 that protects the online privacy of children under 13 by imposing requirements on website operators and online services directed to children or with actual knowledge they're collecting information from children. COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children, clear privacy policies directed to parents, reasonable security measures, data minimization (collecting only information necessary for participation), providing parents with access to their child's information and the ability to refuse further collection or use, and limiting data retention. COPPA applies to operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13, general audience sites with actual knowledge of collecting information from children, and operators of plug-ins or ad networks serving content on child-directed sites. The FTC enforces COPPA, imposing significant penalties for violations.