Proposed Rule2023-15415
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Proposed Parental Consent Method; Application of the ESRB Group for Approval of Parental Consent Method
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 20, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) requests public comment concerning the proposed parental consent method submitted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Yoti Ltd. and Yoti (USA) Inc., and SuperAwesome Ltd. ("the ESRB group"), under the Voluntary Commission Approval Processes provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 138 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 138 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46705-46706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15415]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 312
RIN 3084-AB58
Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Proposed Parental
Consent Method; Application of the ESRB Group for Approval of Parental
Consent Method
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) requests
public comment concerning the proposed parental consent method
submitted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Yoti Ltd. and
Yoti (USA) Inc., and SuperAwesome Ltd. (``the ESRB group''), under the
Voluntary Commission Approval Processes provision of the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Rule.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 21, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Invitation to Comment portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Application for
Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' on your comment and file
your comment online through <a href="https://regulations.gov">https://regulations.gov</a>.
If you prefer to file a comment in hard copy, please write
``Application for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' on
your comment and on the envelope and mail your comment to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex P), Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peder Magee, Attorney, (202-326-3538),
or James Trilling, Attorney, (202-326-3497), Division of Privacy and
Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Section A. Background
On October 20, 1999, the Commission issued its final Rule \1\
pursuant to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C.
6501 et seq, which became effective on April 21, 2000.\2\ On December
19, 2012, the Commission amended the Rule, and these amendments became
effective on July 1, 2013.\3\ The Rule requires certain website
operators, among other things, to post privacy policies, provide
notice, and obtain verifiable parental consent, prior to collecting,
using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age
of 13. The Rule enumerates methods for obtaining verifiable parental
consent, while also allowing interested parties to file a written
request for Commission approval of parental consent methods not
currently enumerated.\4\ To be considered, parties must submit a
detailed description of the proposed parental consent method, together
with an analysis of how the method meets the requirements for parental
consent described in 16 CFR 312.5(b)(1).
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\1\ 64 FR 59888 (1999).
\2\ 16 CFR part 312.
\3\ 78 FR 3972 (2013).
\4\ 16 CFR 312.12(a); 78 FR at 3991-3992, 4013.
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Pursuant to 16 CFR 312.12(a), the ESRB group has submitted a
proposed parental consent method to the Commission for approval. The
ESRB group proposes a consent mechanism that uses facial age estimation
technology, which analyzes the geometry of the consenting person's face
to confirm the person is an adult. The full text of its application is
available on the Commission's website at <a href="http://www.ftc.gov">www.ftc.gov</a> and on the docket
for this project at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Section B. Questions on the Parental Consent Method
The Commission is seeking comment on the proposed parental consent
method and is particularly interested in receiving comment on the
questions that follow. These questions are designed to assist the
Commission's consideration of the application and should not be
construed as a limitation on the issues on which public comment may be
submitted. Responses to these questions should cite the number of the
question being answered. For all comments submitted, please provide any
data, statistics, or any other evidence, upon which those comments are
based.
1. Is this method already covered by existing methods enumerated in
16 CFR 312.5(b)(2)?
2. If this is a new method, provide comments on whether the
proposed parental consent method meets the requirements for parental
consent laid out in 16 CFR 312.5(b)(1). Specifically, the Commission is
looking for comments on whether the proposed parental consent method is
reasonably calculated, considering available technology, to ensure that
the person providing consent is the child's parent.
3. Does this proposed method pose a risk to consumers' personal
information, including consumers' biometric information? If so, is that
risk outweighed by the benefit to consumers and businesses of using
this method?
4. Does this proposed method pose a risk of disproportionate error
rates or other outcomes for particular demographic groups? If so, is
that risk outweighed by the benefit to consumers and businesses of
using this method?
Section C. Invitation To Comment
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before August 21, 2023.
Write ``Application for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402''
on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website.
Because of the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail
addressed to the Commission is subject to delay. We strongly encourage
you to submit your comments online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. To make sure the Commission considers your
online comment, please follow the instructions on the web-based form.
If you file your comment on paper, write ``Application for Parental
Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex P), Washington, DC 20580.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, you are solely responsible for
making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or
confidential information. In particular, your comment should not
include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone
else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number
or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent;
passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card
number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your
[[Page 46706]]
comment does not include any sensitive health information, including
medical records or other individually identifiable health information.
In addition, your comment should not include any ``[t]rade secret or
any commercial or financial information which is . . . privileged or
confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C.
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in
particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. Your comment will be kept confidential only if the
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the
public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you
submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that
request.
Visit the FTC website to read this publication and the news release
describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission
administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and
use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all
timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before
August 21, 2023. For information on the Commission's privacy policy,
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-15415 Filed 7-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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