The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has provided new guidance on how it will enforce the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) against companies collecting voice recordings from children, loosening the rules on how companies can collect and use voice data. Under the guidance, online services covered by COPPA can now collect voice recordings from children without obtaining verifiable parental consent so long as they collect and use the voice recording solely as a replacement for written words, such as to perform a search or fulfill a verbal instruction or request, and maintain the file for only the brief period of time necessary for that purpose. The FTC’s publication builds on previous FTC guidance making clear that COPPA applies to Internet of Things devices, including connected children’s toys. The publication marks the first time that the FTC has publicly signaled that it will refrain from bringing enforcement actions in circumstances where it believes COPPA has been violated.
Continue Reading FTC Carves New Path for Collecting Voice Recordings from Children Without Parental Consent