NewImageThe U.S. Federal Trade Commission has begun sending educational letters to app developers to make them aware of upcoming changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that was updated back in December.

The two letters [PDF, PDF] inform developers that the restricted collection of personal information of kids 13-and-under has been expanded to include photographs and video and audio with a child's image, among other things. Previously, only identifying information such as the child's name, address, and telephone number was restricted.

Please note that we have not yet evaluated your apps or your company’s practices to determine if they comply with COPPA as it is now – or as it will be starting July 1, 2013. We are sending you this letter to both alert you to the upcoming COPPA Rule changes and to encourage you to review your apps, your policies, and your procedures for compliance.

The revised COPPA Rule requires all developers of apps that are directed to children under 13 – or that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 – to post accurate privacy policies, provide notice, and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing any “personal information” from children.

App 'platforms' like Apple's App Store and Google Play are explicitly exempted from the law and stores are not required to verify that apps are in compliance with the law; instead, it's up to individual developers to verify compliance.

Thanks Jules!

Top Rated Comments

Jessica Lares Avatar
150 months ago
I also think it's the developer's responsibility. They are the ones making the initial app after all.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
150 months ago
The inefficiency, it burns!
How so? If Apple were required to verify all apps for compliance with these new rules, it'd only slow the review process down further. Rather than making it so all developers have to deal with the implications of this law, only the developers making apps that actually pertain to the subject matter actually have to do anything about it.

Whether a law like this is actually necessary is another matter entirely... I'm always in favor of saying if a law mentions age, it's ageist bull.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jessica Lares Avatar
150 months ago
In a way this sucks for developers because even if they rate an app 14+ kids can lie about it just like they can lie now about being 17 etc. Hell I know 8 year olds with their own apple id etc cause the parents lied about the kids age.

So developers are going to end up basically forced to remove all such sharing which will destroy apps like Instagram etc. or the law needs to be changed to either specify only apps targeted to kids.

Or perhaps what is needed is a restrictions feature where parents can turn off uploading of photos etc just like they can turn off IAP. All apps would be required to include it if they have such sharing features so that parents can turn those bits off.

You should really read before you assume what this means. It's strictly for apps that are targeted at children. Has NOTHING to do with social networking.

There has been a policy since 1999 stating that if you make a website targeting to those 13 and under, it has to be very strict. Everything from the way signups work, to the display of any material that is submitted by the kid themselves.

I think there were other bits about marketing, but I can't remember. All I remember was that i was 10 when it went into effect and it was awful. :o

Yes, you can lie about your age, and yes, shortly when this went into effect, all my friends and I DID lie about our age in order to join forums and whatnot. But it wasn't like I was saying that I was 18, I just added three years to my birthday so I would be 13.

Webmasters can only go by the information they get from the user. If they sign up as being 13, they have to pass them as being 13. Now, if they start posting pictures and things that reveal that they are indeed much, much younger, it's then when the website owner has to take action and purge the account. And that's the whole thing here. If you're going to let anyone under 13 join your site, you have to hand it in THIS manner, or you can't let them participate.

A lot of developers have things like TrialPay, Tapjoy, and newsletter signups. They also have in-game chat, and all that. We're going to see a lot of that disappear in the educational games that are made for the younger crowd. It's not going to affect games like Angry Birds or social networks.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
larrylaffer Avatar
150 months ago
App 'platforms' like Apple's App Store and Google Play are explicitly exempted from the law and stores are not required to verify that apps are in compliance with the law; instead, it's up to individual developers to verify compliance

The inefficiency, it burns!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Thursday October 31, 2024 9:42 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well. ...
best early black friday deals

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Friday November 1, 2024 8:21 am PDT by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 29 in 2024. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
M4 Pro on Blue

M4 Pro Chip Benchmark Results Reveal an Extremely Impressive Performance Feat

Thursday October 31, 2024 7:06 pm PDT by
The first Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the M4 Pro chip surfaced today. Impressively, the results that are available so far show that the highest-end M4 Pro chip is faster than the highest-end M2 Ultra chip in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. Here is a comparison of the results: Mac mini with M4 Pro (14-core CPU): 22,094 multi-core score (average of 11 results) Mac Studio...
Apple iPhone SE 4 5G Modem 1

iPhone SE 4 First to Get Apple-Designed 5G Modem, iPhone 17 Pro to Add Custom Wi-Fi 7 Chip

Friday November 1, 2024 4:04 am PDT by
The iPhone SE 4 that's set to come out early next year is expected to debut Apple's first in-house 5G modem, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. In a research note this week with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said Apple is expected to roll out its custom-made 5G modem starting with the next-generation...
ios 18 2 chatgpt plus

iOS 18.2 Beta 2 Shows Siri ChatGPT Limit, Offers 'Plus' Upgrade Option

Monday November 4, 2024 10:54 am PST by
With the second beta of iOS 18.2 that's available for developers today, Apple has further fleshed out the ChatGPT integration that's available with Siri. In the Settings app, there's now a section that shows the ChatGPT daily limit, and offers an option to upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus plan. The beta includes an Advanced Capabilities section with a "Daily Limit" reading that shows up as...
M3 Pro Max vs M4 Pro Max Feature

Here's How Much Faster M4 Pro/Max Are for Graphics vs. M3 Pro/Max

Friday November 1, 2024 8:04 am PDT by
Apple's new M4 Pro and M4 Max chips are impressively fast in terms of CPU performance, topping the M2 Ultra, but what about graphics performance? The first Geekbench 6 results for GPU performance are now available for the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and the Metal scores reveal some impressive year-over-year gains. Based on the Metal scores that are available so far, the M4 Pro and M4 Max are up to...
imac video apple feature

What to Expect From Apple This November

Friday November 1, 2024 9:40 am PDT by
After a busy October in which Apple announced new Macs and Apple Intelligence launched, the calendar has now turned to November. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple this month as the slower-but-still-busy holiday season approaches. After seeding the first betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 with additional Apple Intelligence features last month, Apple will likely...