A bipartisan push to protect children online

By Daniel Gaitan NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A bipartisan effort aiming to help protect the privacy of children and young teenagers online is making its way through Congress. The Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013, introduced in both the House and Senate in November, would amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998, and apply prohibitions against the collection of personal information from children and young teens to online and mobile applications. “Children and teens are visiting numerous companies’ websites, and marketers are using multimedia games, online quizzes, and mobile phone and tablet applications to create ties to children and teens,” the bill reads. If passed, the bill would prohibit website and mobile application operators from using or providing the personal information of children and young teens to third parties without verifiable consent from a parent, or from the minor if he or she is between 13 and 15.