It is important to the New York State Department of State Division of Consumer Protection that parents and guardians have control over what information is collected from their children online and how such information is or may be used. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), imposes restrictions on commercial websites, not on government agency websites. Although COPPA does not apply to the Division website, it is Division policy to be compliant with the requirements of COPPA and not to solicit or collect information about or from children age thirteen (13) and under.
The Division website does contain some educational and entertaining content for children. In addition, the Division publishes a newsletter for children called “KIDSUMERS”. If someone wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for information such as name and address so that the newsletter can be mailed to them. If a child is under the age of thirteen (13), we ask that the request come from a parent or an adult. No information which we collect is shared with third parties.
In the event that the Division does receive an online communication clearly indicating that it has been submitted by a child age thirteen (13) or younger, under no circumstances will any personal information be published on the Division website, be used for a purpose not intended by its sender or shared with third parties before obtaining parental consent. At any time, a parent may ask to review their child’s information, delete it or ask that it not be used in the future by sending an email to webmaster@consumer.state.ny.us.
The Division website contains links to other websites intended to contain educational and entertainment content for children. While the Division has selected sites that it believes offer good, reliable information, the Division is not responsible for the content provided or these sites’ adherence to COPPA. It is important that parents and guardians monitor their children’s online communication to ensure that children do not provide personally identifiable information to websites that parents and guardians find unacceptable. Parents and guardians are encouraged to advise children to ask them or an adult to look at what they are doing first if they wish to give their name, address, phone number, e-mail address or other personal information.
If you would like more information about COPPA, please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s official COPPA page.