The law, which covers commercial websites and mobile apps, prevents covered entities from obtaining and storing certain kinds of information from children under the age of thirteen. Identifying information includes name, phone number, photos, geolocation, screen names and any “persistent identifier” that can be used to identify a child over time.
While COPPA takes important steps toward protecting children’s information, it is not a comprehensive solution for protecting children’s privacy. COPPA applies to information rather than general online safety. While COPPA addresses sites and services geared toward children under the age of 13, most websites and apps do not independently verify the age of their users. If a child lies about his or her birth date to access a site, the site is not responsible for verifying the user’s actual age. In response to this issue, Facebook and Instagram recently announced that they plan to lock the accounts of underage users. However, the sites do not plan to seek out users who have violated their age requirement policies. Also, although COPPA regulates the use of children’s personal information, compliance with COPPA in no way means that the content of a particular site is safe or appropriate for young children. Children’s online privacy and safety is still, in many ways, up for grabs, or entirely in the hands of parents.