“THE PRE-1964 CIGARETTE” OF TODAY: SOCIAL MEDIA, PREDATORY ONLINE PRACTICES, AND NEW ADVANCES IN CHILDREN’S PRIVACY REGULATION

Ransom-Final

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) was passed in 1998 and has been the sole method by which children’s online privacy is regulated in the United States ever since. Until recently, efforts to strengthen children’s online privacy has either been slow-moving or failed altogether. However, California recently passed the Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, the most expansive children’s online privacy regulation the United States has seen to date.

As concern around data privacy becomes more pressing, it has become clear that lawmakers must take action to keep children safe from predatory online practices, both from companies and private individuals. Where COPPA primarily puts the responsibility to protect children online on parents, the Age-Appropriate Design Code Model places more responsibility in the hands of those most prepared to actually do something about it: the companies themselves.

This Article is meant to serve as a call to action for North Carolina lawmakers to adopt legislation similar to California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act before it is too late to protect an entire generation of North Carolina children from the predatory online practices currently employed by the companies interacting with children every day online.

Author: Catherine Ransom

PDF: http://ncjolt.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/05/Ransom-Final.pdf

Volume 24, Issue 3