The Federal Trade Commission's latest updates to its frequently asked questions on complying with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act may help answer lingering questions social media companies, advertising networks, and others may have following the July 1 effective date of the commission's amended COPPA Rule.

The FTC released the final amendments to the COPPA Rule in December 2012.  The COPPA Rule imposes parental notice and consent requirements on websites and online services collecting information from children younger than 13.

In April, the FTC released updated frequently asked questions on the COPPA Rule.  The commission said in a July 1 statement that it intended to periodically update those FAQs.

In a July 26 blog post, Lesley Fair, senior attorney with the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, explained that the commission had added five FAQs.

For example, when a child-directed application includes an embedded button or plug-in that allows children to share information via email or a social network, the app's operator must obtain verifiable parental consent, the FTC explained in FAQ D.9.

"The COPPA rule defines 'collection' to include requesting, prompting, or encouraging a child to submit personal information online, and enabling a child to make personal information publicly available in identifiable form," the commission said. "In addition, under the COPPA Rule, 'disclosure' includes making a child's personal information publicly available in identifiable form through an email service or other means, such as a social network."

FAQs D.10, D.11, and D.12 addressed hypothetical situations where a company would be deemed to have "actual knowledge" that it is collecting personal information through a child-directed website

For example, in FAQ D.10, the FTC clarified that an advertising network service would have "actual knowledge" in two situations.  "Under the first scenario, any direct communications that the child-directed provider has with you that indicate the child-directed nature of its content would give rise to actual knowledge," the commission explained. In the second scenario, the ad network would be deemed to have actual knowledge if a representative of the network is aware that the content is directed at children, according to the FAQ.

The receipt of a list of websites that are child-directed, alone, would probably not constitute "actual knowledge," the FTC said in FAQ D.11. "If you receive information and are uncertain whether the site is child-directed, you may ordinarily rely on a specific affirmative representation from the Web site operator that its content is not child-directed," it added.

Similarly, FAQ D.12 explained that an ad network operator who participates in a system in which a first-party website signals whether it is directed at children may generally rely on the first-party site's representation.

FAQ K.2 offered guidance for those who discover after the effective date of the rule that they have been collecting personal information through a child-directed website. Fair said that, unless an exception under COPPA applies, such an individual or company must immediately stop collecting the information. Before continuing to collect, use, or disclose personal information, the individual or person must provide notice and obtain parental consent, the FAQ said.

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