Lindsey Tonsager writes:
The FTC has denied AssertID’s request to recognize a new method for obtaining verifiable parental consent for the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information from children under 13. The application was the first of its kind to be filed since the FTC added a voluntary parental consent approval process to its revised rule implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).
AssertID’s parental consent product, ConsentID, verifies the parent’s identity and relationship to the child by polling the parent’s social networking connections to calculate a “trust score.” Once the parent’s trust score meets a defined threshold, that parent can consent to the child’s use of various websites, mobile applications, and other online services. The FTC concluded that AssertID provided insufficient evidence that the ConsentID polling process reliably predicted that the person providing consent was the child’s parent.
Read more on Covington & Burling InsidePrivacy.