COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)
US federal law protecting the privacy of children under 13 by restricting data collection practices.
What is COPPA?
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a US federal law that imposes strict requirements on websites and online services that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13 years of age. For publishers, COPPA applies if your site is directed at children, or if you have actual knowledge that you are collecting personal information from children under 13.
COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children, clear privacy policies describing data practices, and limitations on the types of data that can be collected. In the ad tech context, COPPA effectively prohibits interest-based advertising to children because the tracking technologies used for ad targeting constitute data collection under the law.
Why It Matters for Publishers
COPPA violations carry severe penalties — the FTC has imposed fines ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on companies that violate the law. Even if your site isn't specifically targeting children, if your content attracts a significant child audience (educational content, games, cartoons, etc.), you may need to comply with COPPA requirements.
COPPA compliance significantly impacts ad monetization because child-directed content cannot use behavioral targeting, interest-based advertising, or remarketing. Publishers must serve contextual ads only, which typically earn 40-70% less than behaviorally targeted ads. This is a fundamental limitation that child-focused publishers must account for in their revenue projections.
Best Practices
- Determine your COPPA status: Evaluate whether your site is "directed to children" based on its subject matter, visual content, audience composition, and advertising content. The FTC considers multiple factors in this determination.
- Tag content appropriately: In Google Ad Manager, tag ad units on child-directed content with the TFCD (tag for child-directed treatment) parameter. This tells ad partners to serve only COPPA-compliant, non-personalized ads.
- Use contextual advertising only: On child-directed content, switch entirely to contextual ad targeting. No behavioral data, tracking cookies, or user profiling should occur on these pages.
- Audit third-party scripts: Remove or disable any analytics, tracking, or ad tech scripts that collect personal information on child-directed pages. This includes many common analytics and social media plugins.
- Consult legal counsel: COPPA compliance is complex and the penalties are severe. If your site attracts a child audience, get professional legal advice on your specific obligations.