Alaap B. Shah and Lisa Pierce Reisz, Members of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, co-authored an article in OneTrust DataGuidance’s Data Protection Leader, titled “USA: Legal, Regulatory, and Enforcement Developments Regarding Children’s Data.”
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full version in PDF format):
Protecting the digital lives of children in the United States remains a bipartisan concern and continues to be prioritized at the state and federal levels as regulators seek ways to modernize privacy rules in response to new technologies, data-driven business models, and rising social concerns. As minors increasingly interact with digital ecosystems - including social media platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, educational apps, and content recommendation engines - the vulnerabilities of children to data exploitation and manipulation have become a central issue for lawmakers.
In recent years, federal and state legislatures, regulators, and enforcement authorities have taken numerous steps to enhance oversight of how children’s data is collected, processed, and shared. These legal shifts reflect a growing consensus that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), first enacted in 1998, is insuffcient in isolation to protect minors in today’s complex digital environments. In response, both Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have sought to modernize COPPA’s reach, while a growing number of states remain active by enacting parallel or supplementary privacy laws focused on the protection of minors.
This article surveys the latest developments in US children’s privacy law, focusing specifically on enforcement trends and the implications of recent federal and state regulatory updates. It examines the rise of age-appropriate design mandates, heightened data handling obligations, biometric protections, and the expanding role of state attorneys general (AGs).
