Children's Groups Push FTC on Collection of Kids’ Information Online

Children's advocates asked the Federal Trade Commission not to allow marketers to collect information online from children under 18 years old. The FTC has proposed five principles including disclosure and security; limits on how long the information can be retained and what it can be used for; and a requirement that any information deemed "sensitive" only be collected with the permission of the user. In its comments, the Center for Digital Democracy, joined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and veteran kids’ media activists Children Now and the United Church of Christ, told the FTC in comments Friday that they were generally supportive of the principles, with the caveat that children’s information be found to be de facto "sensitive" and further that marketers be prohibited entirely from collecting that information from kids. They argued that kids are more susceptible to such ads, are less able to distinguish between ads and other information and that kids do not "meaningfully" consent to such advertising and can't be expected to figure out privacy policies that are hard enough for adults to understand. The groups want the FTC to: adopt the guidelines with the "sensitive data" exclusion for kids under 18; monitor industry compliance and put more teeth in the exclusion, if needed; and require express consent from parents when advertisers collect any information from kids in order to target them with advertising.
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