Panelists Weigh Overlap Between Privacy and Kids' Safety
Legislators can’t address kids’ safety issues without also considering kids’ privacy issues because they're intertwined, privacy attorney Paula Bruening said Tuesday during an Innovators Network webinar.
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Panelists discussed efforts at the federal and state levels to legislate both issues. They mentioned how parental consent methods can be inadequate for consumers and businesses. For example, requiring adults to upload identification or credit card information creates privacy concerns because not every adult wants to share such information with platforms that have questionable privacy track records, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Senior Policy Manager Ash Johnson.
Companies have issues with parental consent requirements because they understand kids can often easily work around them, exposing businesses to liability if they don’t prevent children from accessing certain platforms, said Bruening.
Requiring companies to use agency-approved methods of age verification weakens the incentive to innovate on new methods, said Future of Privacy Forum Policy Fellow Daniel Hales, so the U.S. should adopt a framework that gives companies greater choice, which would allow them the flexibility to innovate.