IAB to FTC: Don't Be a Grinch

On the eve of the Federal Trade Commission's release of updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Interactive Advertising Bureau has come up with a cartoon and a message in a blog post: Don't be a Grinch, FTC.

COPPA is the law that protects children’s privacy by requiring websites to obtain parental permission before collecting kids' personally identifiable information, like e-mail addresses. Updates to the 1998 law could be released next week, FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said during a Congressional Privacy Caucus briefing. But certain provisions of the proposed updates may go too far, the IAB argues, destroying the Internet experience for its youngest users. Thus, the cartoon shows Santa Claus taking a sledge hammer to a tablet, while devastated children look at broken mobile devices. "We thought about doing an op ed or a case study, but we wanted to take this subject matter from a different angle. We tried to find a way that doesn't stick a finger in the FTC's eye too deeply," said Mike Zaneis, the IAB's svp and general counsel.