[Infowarrior] - COPPA 2.0

[Richard Forno]

http://pff.org/news/news/2009/052109-COPPA-age-verification-privacy-free-speech.html

News Media
PFF Highlights
	
News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 	
CONTACT: Amy Smorodin
May 21, 2009 	
(202) 289-8928
   	
COPPA Expansion Would Impact All Internet Users
Better Approaches are Available to Protect Children Online

WASHINGTON D.C. - Legislative proposals to expand the Children's  
Online Privacy Protection Act are highly misguided, explain Berin  
Szoka and Adam Thierer in "COPPA 2.0: The New Battle Over Privacy, Age  
Verification, Online Safety & Free Speech," released today by The  
Progress & Freedom Foundation. Expanding age verification mandates  
would require all users to surrender privacy and speech rights while  
doing little to improve the online safety of minors.

In the paper, PFF Fellows Szoka and Thierer argue that proposed state  
laws to expand the parental consent framework in the Children's Online  
Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to include adolescents between 13 and  
17 would essentially require age verification of all users of affected  
sites, including large numbers of adults.  This would violate the  
First Amendment rights of adults as well as of minors and site  
operators.  Attempts to enact such proposals at the state level would  
also conflict with the Commerce Clause because of the interstate  
nature of the Internet.

Furthermore, in light of widespread "social networking" found in most  
Web 2.0 websites today, expansion of parental consent requirements  
would be unworkable because of the increased hassles and costs of  
compliance.  Expanding age verification mandates would also require  
websites to obtain more information about both minors and their  
parents, which runs counter to the original goal of the Act:  
protecting the privacy of minors.  Ultimately, this would actually  
make minors less "safe online." "It's important we not overlook the  
privacy implications of any effort to expand COPPA to do something it  
was not originally intended to do," the authors conclude.  "There are  
better ways to protect our kids online."

"COPPA 2.0: The New Battle Over Privacy, Age Verification, Online  
Safety & Free Speech," is available on the PFF website.  PFF also  
produces a book, "Parental Controls and Online Protection: A Survey of  
Tools and Methods," which offers parents and policymakers a  
comprehensive inventory of the many excellent tools and strategies  
that can be used to protect kids online.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that  
studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy.  
It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.