AgeCheq’s verifiable parental consent (VPC) method application “is...
AgeCheq’s verifiable parental consent (VPC) method application “is in fact a business plan for a parental consent management intermediary,” said FTC-approved safe harbor Privacy Vaults Online (PRIVO) in comments filed Tuesday night to the FTC. Comments were due Tuesday on…
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AgeCheq’s application, which proposes a central database from which parents can control their children’s access to various apps across devices (WID Oct 1 p1). Products like AgeCheq is proposing may have “great public benefit,” and the FTC has encouraged their development, but they are not appropriate for a VPC method application, PRIVO said. All forms of verification AgeCheq presents are already well-established under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), PRIVO said. “The FTC’s processes should not be used to approve the specific business plan or proprietary products of specific companies,” said PRIVO. “Doing so could lead to confusion among developers that they must use a service or product that is listed in the FTC’s rules or they will be at risk of noncompliance.” PRIVO argued the product presented also falls short of COPPA’s requirements. The age-gate’s language would be “very alarming to a child,” and encourage underage users to lie, PRIVO said. Parents are also given an “all or nothing” approach to consent for data collection. “The mere use of the service does not make its customers COPPA-compliant,” PRIVO said.