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ARTICLE · 12 MARCH 2026

FTC Issues COPPA Policy Statement To Provide Enforcement Discretion And Encourage The Use Of Age Verification Technologies

McDermott Will & Schulte
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On February 25, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Policy Statement clarifying its enforcement approach under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule to encourage...

United StatesPrivacy
Alexander H. Southwell
Alexander H. Southwell
Tyler Henry
Tyler Henry
Katelyn Ringrose
Katelyn Ringrose
Michael Roberts
Michael Roberts
Kathryn Linsky
Kathryn Linsky
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On February 25, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a Policy Statement clarifying its enforcement approach under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule to encourage the use of age verification technologies by certain website and online service operators. The FTC announced that it will not bring an enforcement action under the COPPA Rule against operators of general audience and mixed audience websites and online services that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children solely for the purpose of determining a user's age using age verification technologies, provided that the operators comply with specified conditions. Importantly, the Policy Statement removes a significant compliance obstacle for website and online service operators that wish to leverage age verification technologies as part of their COPPA compliance strategies.

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