FTC says it will not enforce COPPA against some age verification uses
Mar 4th 2026
The Federal Trade Commission said it will not bring enforcement actions under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule for certain age verification systems that collect personal data only to determine age if operators follow narrow use, deletion, and security conditions, a move that has drawn warnings from privacy and child welfare experts.
- The FTC issued a policy statement that it will not bring COPPA enforcement actions against certain operators that collect personal information solely to verify a user’s age when they meet specified limits and safeguards.
- COPPA requires parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13, a requirement that age verification methods can trigger if they capture a child’s data.
- The FTC tied its non-enforcement to conditions including limited use of data, prompt deletion after verification, and security safeguards for stored information.
- Privacy and child welfare experts warn age verification can be bypassed, produce inaccurate results, create data breach risks, and push children to less regulated platforms.
- The FTC said the policy was approved unanimously by the commissioners who voted on the statement.