Senate Commerce Unanimously Passes COPPA 2.0 Bill
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed legislation that would expand the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to cover teens up to the age of 16 (see 2506180068).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Privacy Daily provides accurate coverage of newsworthy developments in data protection legislation, regulation, litigation, and enforcement for privacy professionals responsible for ensuring effective organizational data privacy compliance.
The committee passed the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) by voice vote in a single motion advancing all five bills at Wednesday’s markup. This is the third year the committee has passed COPPA 2.0.
The House Commerce Committee passed the bill in September 2024, but it never received floor action. House Republican leadership opposed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that passed the committee in a kids package with COPPA 2.0.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who introduced COPPA 2.0 in the House with Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., told us Wednesday that committee staff indicated the legislation could be considered as a stand-alone bill. House Republicans were outspoken against KOSA but not COPPA 2.0 in 2024. Walberg said he's hoping for a markup after Congress passes the budget.
Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Mass., both touched on the legislation in their opening remarks. Cruz said there’s strong support for the bill on and off the committee. Teens are "growing up in a phone-based world fraught with new online challenges,” he said.
Cantwell highlighted a few of the bill’s provisions, noting it would expand COPPA’s definitions of personal information to include geolocation and biometric information. In addition, it would amend the bill’s actual knowledge standard to “actual knowledge or knowledge fairly implied,” she said: That’s a “very important change.” These updates “will protect kids [and] make it easier to hold violators accountable.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who introduced the bill with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said the legislation was “intensely vetted” and is “desperately needed” to address the youth mental health crisis. He highlighted the bill’s ban on targeted advertising for children and teens, which he said will ensure young girls aren’t bombarded with ads for weight-loss drugs or beauty products. The measure gives kids an “eraser button” they can use to remove their personal data from platforms so a “youthful mistake doesn’t follow them forever.”
Markey highlighted Google’s announcement endorsing the legislation Tuesday, calling it a “powerful signal that one of the largest players in the tech industry recognizes the urgent need for strong privacy protections for young people.” Markey said he’s looking forward to working with the full Senate and House to “get this across the finish line.”
The Software Information Industry Association (SIIA) recommended further changes, including “refining the bill’s knowledge standard, better defining personal information, and ensuring stronger federal preemption to avoid a patchwork of state laws.” The Computer & Communications Industry Association opposed the legislation in a statement Tuesday (see 2506240047).