US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Bill Text (PDF)
Washington (March 4, 2025) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) today reintroduced the bipartisan Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), which would update online data privacy rules for the 21st century and ensure children and teenagers are protected online. Senator Markey first introduced this legislation to update his original COPPA law in 2011 as a member of the House of Representatives and has introduced the bipartisan legislation in every Congress since.
“We need strong modern legislation that keeps pace with the ever-evolving digital landscape and creates a safer online environment by addressing the youth mental health crisis and protecting the personal information of our kids,” said Senator Markey. “Congress must finally pass my Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act to extend these protections to teenagers, block targeted advertising to kids and teens, and give parents of young people an eraser button to protect them from predatory data collection practices.”
“Every kid has an iPad or smartphone. They’re going to use the internet. Parents should be confident they can do it safely,” said Dr. Cassidy. “COPPA 2.0 is the tool that will give parents the peace of mind they need and keep their children’s personal information secure.”
The legislation is also cosponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Shelly-Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
Specifically, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act would:
Ban targeted advertising to children and teens;
Create an “Eraser Button” by requiring companies to permit users to delete personal information collected from a child or teen;
Establish data minimization rules to prohibit the excessive collection of children and teens’ data;
Revise COPPA’s “actual knowledge” standard to close the loophole that allows platforms to ignore kids and teens on their site; and
Build on COPPA by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 16 years old without their consent.
The legislation is endorsed by AASA – the School Superintendents Association, ACCESS Lab – Washington University in St. Louis, Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, Association of Educational Service Agencies, Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, Carolina Resource Center for Eating Disorders, Center for Change, Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Humane Technology, Centerstone, CHILD USA, Children’s Justice Fund, Common Sense Media, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Defending the Early Years, Design It For Us, Early Childhood Work Group, Screen Time Action Network, Eating Disorder Foundation, Eating Disorders Coalition, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Fairplay, Farrington Specialty Centers, Foolproof, IFEDD – The International Federation of Eating Disorder Dietitians, Inseparable, International Society for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses, Issue One, Lines for Life, Marsh Law Firm PPLC, Mentari, MO Eating Disorders Council, Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association, Inc. (MEDA), National Association for Pupil Transportation, National Association of School Nurses, National Federation of Families, National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), National Rural Education Association, Network for Public Education, P.E.A.C.E (Peace Educators Allied for Children Everywhere), Parents Who Fight, Phone Free Schools Movement, Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC), Postpartum Support International, Prosperity Eating Disorders and Wellness, Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), Public Citizen, PEDC, REGO Payment Architectures, Sandy Hook Promise, Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders, Student Data Privacy Project, University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, Western Youth Services, Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force, and Young People’s Alliance.
“The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, reintroduced by Senators Markey and Cassidy and other Senate co-sponsors, is more urgent than ever. Children’s surveillance has only intensified across social media, gaming, and virtual spaces, where companies harvest data to track, profile, and manipulate young users. COPPA 2.0 will ban targeted ads to those under 16, curbing the exploitation, manipulation, and discrimination of children for profit. By extending protections to teens and requiring a simple ‘eraser button’ to delete personal data, this legislation takes a critical step in restoring privacy rights in an increasingly invasive digital world,” said Katharina Kopp, Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
“Common Sense Media believes Congress must update the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to strengthen safeguards for young children and extend vital protections to teenagers. Common Sense applauds Senators Markey and Cassidy for their unwavering commitment to this critical cause. With strong bi-partisan support having carried this legislation through the Senate last year, we are optimistic about securing passage in both chambers this year – America’s families deserve no less. This bill would take decisive action by prohibiting targeted advertising to young users, requiring platforms to acknowledge and protect children on their sites, and prevent companies from exploiting youth vulnerabilities for profit. This time has come for Congress to finally pass this essential legislation,” said James P. Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media.
“The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act is an essential step toward addressing youth mental health and online safety. By expanding critical privacy protections to teens for the first time, banning targeted advertising, and closing loopholes that allow platforms to ignore the presence of underage users, COPPA 2.0 will disrupt the business model that capitalizes on our kids’ attention at the expense of their physical and mental wellbeing. Last year, the Senate demonstrated the importance of this landmark legislation by passing it in a historic 91-3 vote. We applaud Senators Markey and Cassidy for reintroducing it so that Congress can finish the job and pass privacy protections for all youth in the 119th Congress,” said Haley Hinkle, Policy Counsel at Fairplay.
“National PTA is committed to making sure that safeguards are in place to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth online,” said Yvonne Johnson, President of the National Parent Teacher Association, the nation’s oldest and largest child advocacy association. “That’s why we’ve strongly advocated for COPPA 2.0, which would provide a long-overdue and desperately needed update of federal law to better protect the personal information of children online and ban targeted advertising toward children and teens. Our association applauds Senators Markey and Cassidy for reintroducing this critical legislation.”
“Design It For Us strongly supports Senators Markey and Cassidy reintroducing COPPA 2.0 to better protect the privacy of young people online. As a coalition of young advocates, we are all too familiar with Big Tech’s toxic business model that collects massive amounts of data on young people and uses it to target them with ads and content. Young people deserve the critical protections COPPA 2.0 has to offer, including privacy tools and an eraser button to delete personal information,” said Zamaan Qureshi, Co-Chair of Design It For Us.
“Social media companies generate astronomical profits off our nation’s young people by turning platforms into a playground for advertisers. They are literally selling access to our children with targeted ads designed to prey on kids’ vulnerabilities. A child as young as 13 struggling with an eating disorder will be targeted with a constant stream of deceptive ads for the next miracle diet pill. In what other setting would we ever allow that? Parents across the country are calling for common-sense age restrictions on targeted ads on social media. COPPA 2.0 is a much-needed answer to their call,” said Dr. S. Bryn Austin, Board Member at Eating Disorders Coalition and Director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders.
“The Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC) is proud to support the re-introduction of COPPA 2.0. COPPA 2.0 increases the age of individuals entitled to foundational privacy protections online from children under 13 to teens under 17. In today’s digital world, prioritizing the privacy and safety of children and teens online should no longer be optional. COPPA 2.0 will help to make this a reality,” said Amelia Vance, President of Public Interest Privacy Center.
“AASA is proud to support the re-introduction of COPPA 2.0. This legislation is more important than ever, as it will fill the gap left by the Federal Trade Commission declining to codify long-standing guidance allowing schools to consent to edtech in their recent update to the COPPA Rule. COPPA 2.0 finds the right balance between increasing protections for children and teen privacy online while still allowing schools to provide appropriate, technology-enhanced educational opportunities for all students,” said Dr. David R. Schuler, Executive Director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
“Public school educators and parents want kids to learn and thrive in safe, engaging and welcoming schools. However, Big Tech’s dismal failure to erect basic safeguards around its predatory social media products has resulted in a growing plague of loneliness, anxiety and depression. We must pass commonsense regulations and laws to protect children from these dangers, just as we did with lead paint and seatbelts, and as Congress almost did last year before Meta’s last minute opposition lobbying. Sen. Ed Markey’s bill, COPPA 2.0, would protect our kids by modernizing and strengthening privacy laws to reflect the online world they live in now. And it would stop Big Tech’s invasive data practices that track and traumatize kids for profit,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
“For too long, Big Tech has evaded accountability by exploiting young users with manipulative design features and harvesting their data to fuel addictive algorithms. As long as these companies profit from hooking children and exploiting their sensitive data, they will continue to prioritize profits at-all-cost over democracy. The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act 2.0 shifts this paradigm by introducing critical protections, including data minimization requirements, a ban on targeted advertising to children and teens, and the closure of loopholes that allow platforms to ignore young users on their sites. Congress now has a crucial opportunity to stand with millions of Americans — parents, young people, and advocates — demanding common-sense safeguards for kids online,” said Alix Fraser, Vice President of Technology Reform at Issue One.
“In the absence of a strong federal comprehensive privacy law, it’s critical that we at least protect the most vulnerable people online — kids and teens. Senator Markey and Cassidy’s Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) does this by placing critical limits on the amount of data that can be collected from young users online to what is necessary for the product or service requested by the child or teen. EPIC is proud to support COPPA 2.0,” said Caitriona Fitzgerald, Deputy Director at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
“The Young People’s Alliance supports Senator Markey and Senator Cassidy as they reintroduce COPPA 2.0, a critical step in curbing Big Tech’s exploitative revenue model. Data privacy cuts predatory platforms off at the source, limiting their ability to track, manipulate, and profit off kids. This, alongside banning targeted ads and allowing minors to delete their data will give young people more control over their online experiences, which we are extremely grateful to see,” said Ava Smithing, Advocacy Director at the Young People’s Alliance.
“The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) is an important piece of legislation to protect young people from harmful and exploitative advertising online. We strongly support this bipartisan bill and applaud the legislators who are working to see that it passes. Kids are not just tiny adults – their young minds are incredibly vulnerable to the content they’re exposed to on social media. This can lead to terrible and tragic outcomes like violence, self-harm, and suicide. As trusted adults, we must do all we can to protect our youth from these kinds of dangerous marketing practices and online materials,” said Mark Barden, Co-Founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.
In December 2024, Senator Markey blasted the decision not to include COPPA 2.0 in the continuing resolution to fund the government through March 14, 2025. In September 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed COPPA 2.0 by a voice vote. In July 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, which included COPPA 2.0, by a 91-3 vote. In July 2023, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously passed COPPA 2.0.
MIL OSI USA News –