WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation passed in mark up two bills related to privacy concerns for children online. NetChoice is glad to see that Congress is focusing on privacy, an issue that Americans who are concerned about tech actually care about.
However, the proposals that passed committee markup today—S. 1628 and S. 3663—would further distract COPPA from focusing on its original goal: to protect children from online predators.
“Teenagers must be kept safe online, but this legislation injects government into the role of parents, undermines the ability for businesses to provide teenagers age-appropriate content, and would require businesses to collect more information about all online users,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice Vice President and General Counsel.
“These bills, though over-broad and in need of significant revision, raise an important conversation about keeping kids safe. Rather than engaging in sweeping regulation, the government should work closely with parents to address new concerns with teens online.”