Senators Warn FTC Not to Weaken Children’s Privacy Rules

Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote a letter to the FTC urging the Commission “to prioritize enhancing protections for kids, not advancing the interests of data collectors.” The Senators criticized the agency’s recent settlement with YouTube, saying “the monetary penalty provided almost no deterrence value at all and was not paired with sufficient structural injunctions to prevent future violations by Google.” The FTC is reviewing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule and is seeking public comments. EPIC testified before Congress in support of the original children's privacy law and backed the 2013 regulations that updated the law.