Arkansas Legislature Passes Privacy Bill Expanding Enhanced COPPA Protections to Teens

This week, the Arkansas Legislature passed the Arkansas Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (HB 1717). The bill is modeled off the existing federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) framework but would build on COPPA’s existing protections extend those privacy protections for teens aged 13-16. Although it is similar COPPA 2.0, a federal bill that Congress is considering to amend COPPA, HB 1717 varies slightly and would only protect Arkansas children and teens.  

HB 1717 has strong data minimization provisions that limit the data collection of children and teens to the context or relationship of the particular transaction, prohibits targeted advertising to children and teens, and allows for children and teens to correct their personal information. The bill now heads to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk. However, it is important to note that in Arkansas, a bill may become law even if the governor does not sign it.

Without a comprehensive federal privacy law, or much-needed updates and modernization to COPPA, which was passed in 1998, there has been tremendous momentum on the state level to protect kids’ privacy and safety online. While HB 1717 is one of many kids’ online privacy bills considered or passed by state legislatures recently, it is the first standalone bill to  extend the COPPA framework to teens. Unlike bills that regulate harmful design or limit access to social media or other content, HB 1717 focuses solely on privacy protections through a mixture of consent and data minimization requirements, including use and purpose limitations.

EPIC regularly advocates for privacy safeguards for children online and for heightened protections for minors’ personal data to be included in comprehensive privacy laws. Last year, EPIC submitted extensive comments to the Federal Trade Commission supporting changes to modernize the COPPA Rule. EPIC also submitted comments to the New York Office Attorney General to support its rulemaking effort implementing the NY SAFE for Kids Act. In court, EPIC has filed amicus briefs in ongoing NetChoice v. Bonta litigation supporting the California Age-Appropriate Design Code. EPIC also filed an amicus brief to the Northern District of California urging the court not to block California’s Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) from going into effect.