Children's Privacy And Children-Directed Influencer Marketing Face Greater Scrutiny - Privacy Protection

United States: Children's Privacy And Children-Directed Influencer Marketing Face Greater Scrutiny

Regulators and industry watchdogs, concerned that children are becoming more vulnerable to new technologies and sales techniques used by marketers, are taking a stronger stance against practices that violate children's privacy and marketing regulations.

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought its first action under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) against a mobile advertising network, InMobi, alleging that InMobi violated COPPA by collecting persistent identifiers (such as cookies) to serve children geotargeted advertisements. The FTC will continue bringing actions against websites and apps that violate COPPA, particularly if they collect persistent identifiers from children to serve behaviorally targeted advertising without verifiable parental consent.

The New York Attorney General recently resolved allegations, resulting in fines and remedial measures, that Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro and JumpStart allowed ad networks and advertisers to track children's activities on their websites in violation of COPPA. This action is likely to spur other state attorneys general to increase monitoring of websites and online services directed to children and to take similar enforcement measures.

Self-regulators and advocacy groups will continue to be active, particularly with respect to child-directed influencer marketing. The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), the children's arm of self-regulation, brought an action last year against EvanTube, a popular YouTube channel featuring a boy unboxing and reviewing toys provided by sponsoring advertisers. According to CARU, EvanTube did not sufficiently disclose to children that the videos were advertising, and now EvanTube's videos must include a prominent audio disclosure at the beginning of each sponsored video stating that it is "advertising."

Additionally, several advocacy groups recently petitioned the FTC to impose stricter regulations for child-directed online influencers, such as EvanTube, arguing that children are less capable of understanding that influencer content is commercial advertising. These advocates believe that such influencer marketing is inherently deceptive, even with appropriate disclosures. Although the FTC may not act on these petitions due to First Amendment concerns, advocacy groups will continue to generate headlines by filing complaints against influencer campaigns that arguably are directed to children.

Key Takeaways

Regulatory authorities will bring COPPA actions against websites and mobile apps that collect geolocation data from children or serve children behaviorally targeted advertisements without parental consent.
As the Internet of Things develops, regulators will also focus on the privacy implications of smart toys and smart TVs that collect personal information from children to ensure compliance with COPPA.
Self-regulators and advocacy groups will continue to scrutinize influencer marketing directed to children to ensure that children know whether their content is paid advertising.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.

Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.

Authors

More Popular Related Articles on Privacy from USA

Legal Aspects Of Managing Data

Kemp IT Law

The purpose of this white paper is to provide a practical guide to legal rights in data � what they are, how they arise and how they can be managed.

Eight Week Countdown To CCPA Compliance: 10 Essential Things To Do Now Despite The Uncertainty

Fenwick & West LLP

Eight Weeks and Counting to the Deadline. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020.

New State Bills Inspired By The California Consumer Privacy Act May Re-Appear Next Year

Ropes & Gray LLP

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) inspired legislators in several other states to attempt to pass similar legislation aimed at protecting the privacy rights of consumers

New Privacy And Personal Data Acts Introduced In The House And Senate

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

The Online Privacy Act was introduced in the House of Representatives. If passed, it would establish individual privacy rights related to personal information

New York Strengthens Data Privacy And Security Protections: Employers Must Adopt Safeguards

Squire Patton Boggs LLP

Joining the growing list of states enacting privacy and data security laws, on July 25, 2019, New York's governor signed into law the "Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security"

Registration (please scroll down to set your data preferences)

Mondaq Ltd requires you to register and provide information that personally identifies you, including your content preferences, for three primary purposes (full details of Mondaq�s use of your personal data can be found in our Privacy and Cookies Notice):

To allow you to personalize the Mondaq websites you are visiting to show content ("Content") relevant to your interests.
To enable features such as password reminder, news alerts, email a colleague, and linking from Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to your website.
To produce demographic feedback for our content providers ("Contributors") who contribute Content for free for your use.

Mondaq hopes that our registered users will support us in maintaining our free to view business model by consenting to our use of your personal data as described below.

Mondaq has a "free to view" business model. Our services are paid for by Contributors in exchange for Mondaq providing them with access to information about who accesses their content. Once personal data is transferred to our Contributors they become a data controller of this personal data. They use it to measure the response that their articles are receiving, as a form of market research. They may also use it to provide Mondaq users with information about their products and services.

Details of each Contributor to which your personal data will be transferred is clearly stated within the Content that you access. For full details of how this Contributor will use your personal data, you should review the Contributor�s own Privacy Notice.

Please indicate your preference below:

Yes, I am happy to support Mondaq in maintaining its free to view business model by agreeing to allow Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors whose Content I access

No, I do not want Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors

Also please let us know whether you are happy to receive communications promoting products and services offered by Mondaq:

Yes, I am happy to received promotional communications from Mondaq

No, please do not send me promotional communications from Mondaq

Terms & Conditions

Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd (Mondaq). Mondaq grants you a non-exclusive, revocable licence to access the Website and associated services, such as the Mondaq News Alerts (Services), subject to and in consideration of your compliance with the following terms and conditions of use (Terms). Your use of the Website and/or Services constitutes your agreement to the Terms. Mondaq may terminate your use of the Website and Services if you are in breach of these Terms or if Mondaq decides to terminate the licence granted hereunder for any reason whatsoever.

Use of www.mondaq.com

To Use Mondaq.com you must be: eighteen (18) years old or over; legally capable of entering into binding contracts; and not in any way prohibited by the applicable law to enter into these Terms in the jurisdiction which you are currently located.

You may use the Website as an unregistered user, however, you are required to register as a user if you wish to read the full text of the Content or to receive the Services.

You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, link, display, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted in these Terms or with the prior written consent of Mondaq. You may not use electronic or other means to extract details or information from the Content. Nor shall you extract information about users or Contributors in order to offer them any services or products.

In your use of the Website and/or Services you shall: comply with all applicable laws, regulations, directives and legislations which apply to your Use of the Website and/or Services in whatever country you are physically located including without limitation any and all consumer law, export control laws and regulations; provide to us true, correct and accurate information and promptly inform us in the event that any information that you have provided to us changes or becomes inaccurate; notify Mondaq immediately of any circumstances where you have reason to believe that any Intellectual Property Rights or any other rights of any third party may have been infringed; co-operate with reasonable security or other checks or requests for information made by Mondaq from time to time; and at all times be fully liable for the breach of any of these Terms by a third party using your login details to access the Website and/or Services

however, you shall not: do anything likely to impair, interfere with or damage or cause harm or distress to any persons, or the network; do anything that will infringe any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights of Mondaq or any third party; or use the Website, Services and/or Content otherwise than in accordance with these Terms; use any trade marks or service marks of Mondaq or the Contributors, or do anything which may be seen to take unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of Mondaq or the Contributors, or the Website, Services and/or Content.

Mondaq reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any action that it deems necessary and appropriate in the event it considers that there is a breach or threatened breach of the Terms.

Mondaq�s Rights and Obligations

Unless otherwise expressly set out to the contrary, nothing in these Terms shall serve to transfer from Mondaq to you, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by and/or licensed to Mondaq and all rights, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights will remain exclusively with Mondaq and/or its licensors.

Mondaq shall use its reasonable endeavours to make the Website and Services available to you at all times, but we cannot guarantee an uninterrupted and fault free service.

Mondaq reserves the right to make changes to the services and/or the Website or part thereof, from time to time, and we may add, remove, modify and/or vary any elements of features and functionalities of the Website or the services.

Mondaq also reserves the right from time to time to monitor your Use of the Website and/or services.

Disclaimer

The Content is general information only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice or seek to be the complete and comprehensive statement of the law, nor is it intended to address your specific requirements or provide advice on which reliance should be placed. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the Content for any purpose. All Content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers hereby exclude and disclaim all representations, warranties or guarantees with regard to the Content, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mondaq expressly excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities arising out of or in connection with all Content. In no event shall Mondaq and/or its respective suppliers be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Content or performance of Mondaq�s Services.

General

Mondaq may alter or amend these Terms by amending them on the Website. By continuing to Use the Services and/or the Website after such amendment, you will be deemed to have accepted any amendment to these Terms.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to settle any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with these Terms. If you live outside the United Kingdom, English law shall apply only to the extent that English law shall not deprive you of any legal protection accorded in accordance with the law of the place where you are habitually resident ("Local Law"). In the event English law deprives you of any legal protection which is accorded to you under Local Law, then these terms shall be governed by Local Law and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts where you are habitually resident.

You may print and keep a copy of these Terms, which form the entire agreement between you and Mondaq and supersede any other communications or advertising in respect of the Service and/or the Website.

No delay in exercising or non-exercise by you and/or Mondaq of any of its rights under or in connection with these Terms shall operate as a waiver or release of each of your or Mondaq�s right. Rather, any such waiver or release must be specifically granted in writing signed by the party granting it.

If any part of these Terms is held unenforceable, that part shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of the parties, and the Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

Mondaq shall not incur any liability to you on account of any loss or damage resulting from any delay or failure to perform all or any part of these Terms if such delay or failure is caused, in whole or in part, by events, occurrences, or causes beyond the control of Mondaq. Such events, occurrences or causes will include, without limitation, acts of God, strikes, lockouts, server and network failure, riots, acts of war, earthquakes, fire and explosions.