The News/Media Alliance submitted comments on March 11 commending the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) measured and considered approach to updating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. The FTC formally requested input on updating the COPPA Rule through its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published in the Federal Register on January 11. In its comments, the Alliance urged the Commission to preserve publishers’ ability to fulfill their vital First Amendment function and allow readers of all ages to benefit from widely available, ad-supported journalism.
The Alliance noted in its comments that the COPPA Rule’s definitions have remained well-understood, and the Commission’s additional clarifications are timely given the influx of children’s privacy legislation at the federal and state levels that draws on COPPA definitions and concepts.
In particular, the Alliance emphasized that contextual advertising is a vital revenue source for news media entities and called on the Commission to preserve the current definition. The Alliance cautioned that additional restrictions on contextual advertising through the COPPA Rule could exacerbate anticompetitive practices in the advertising ecosystem.
Emily Emery is Vice President, Government Affairs at the News/Media Alliance. Before joining the News/Media Alliance, Emily was Vice President of Government Relations for a leading mobile games publisher and for MPA – the Magazine Publishers Association, which merged with the News/Media Alliance in 2022.
