5 min

The podcast episode discusses the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPA) and the importance of businesses and parents understanding and complying with its regulations. COPA aims to protect the online privacy of children under 13, requiring websites and online services to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children. Noncompliance can result in significant fines. The episode also highlights a case study where Google and YouTube were fined $170 million for violating COPA by collecting personal information from children for targeted advertising without parental consent. As a result, YouTube had to create a system for channel owners to identify child-directed content and comply with COPA. This case demonstrates the enforcement and impact of COPA in ensuring a safer online environment for children. On the side of the law, on the side of the law, who is right, who is wrong, who is for and who is against the law? On the side of the law, on the side of the law, who is right, who is wrong, who is for and who is against the law? On the side of the law, on the side of the law, who is right, who is wrong, who is for and who is against the law? Welcome to Complycast, the podcast where legal expertise meets the digital frontier. I'm your host, Jaleesa, and today we're diving into crucial topics that impact both businesses and consumers alike. Joining us is a team of legal experts from Ladies Firm dedicated to unraveling the complexities of the digital landscape. There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected and that their welfare is protected and that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace. Kofi Annan. Today's episode is packed with insights on COPA, third-party sharing and data monetization. Let's jump right in. Our first topic is COPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. It is a critical area of concern for businesses dealing with online content. Here to shed light on this is Ashlyn Watkins. Thanks for having me, Jaleesa. COPA aims to protect the online privacy of children under 13, imposing certain requirements on websites and online services. Noncompliance can lead to hefty fines for these operators. Businesses need to be diligent in ensuring that they are COPA compliant to avoid legal repercussions. At the same time, parents need to be well informed about their child's rights and the regulations regarding this law. Operators of these websites and media platforms must provide clear and understandable notice and obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children. Most parents aren't aware of their rights, making it essential to educate them for a safer online environment for their children. COPA's main goal is to ensure confidentiality, security, and integrity of personal information collected from children. Let me share an interesting case study of a company violating COPA and what happened as a result of doing so. On September 4, 2019, Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, agreed to pay a $170 million fine to settle allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission. Most people don't know, but if you didn't know, the Federal Trade Commission is a federal agency that works to protect consumers against unfair or deceptive business practices. They enforce antitrust laws and they prevent anti-competitive behavior in the market. Essentially, they are for consumers and fight on our behalf. That's really good, right? Hopefully now that you understand that piece of the puzzle, the rest will make some more sense. Essentially, the claim is that YouTube, with the help of cookies or persistent identifiers, collected personal information, including the user's internet browsing habits, for targeted advertising. They did this to viewers of child-directed channels, that's the main point here, without notifying parents and getting their consent, which is a direct violation of COPA. YouTube marketed and directed targeted ads towards children and would not acknowledge that a portion of the platform was directed towards them. But because it is, it must comply with COPA. As a result of the settlement, YouTube must now create and maintain a system that allows channel owners to identify their child-directed content and ensure that it complies with COPA. The platform must also provide notice about their data collection and receive parental consent before doing so. Later, it was implemented for creators to specify if their content was made for children. There are bots processing if content is children-friendly, moderators constantly on the website, and more protections as well. This is just a recent example of COPA law being enforced in a really tangible way that probably affects most parents right now. I hope that you can now have a better grasp on what it means and how it is implemented in the day-to-day.