United States Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, on Thursday celebrated unanimous Senate passage of the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA 2.0, which would update online data privacy rules to reflect modern technology and expand protections for young users.
The legislation also aims to strengthen safeguards for children and teenagers online amid growing concerns about youth mental health and outdated data practices, according to Britt’s office.
Senators Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, and Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, introduced COPPA 2.0. Britt is an original cosponsor.
“I’m thrilled that the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act passed unanimously in the Senate,” Britt said. “This is a bipartisan piece of legislation that takes necessary steps to update an antiquated law from 1998 by extending privacy protections to people under the age of 17 instead of 13. As more and more teenagers are active online, this truly is a critical step toward keeping our youth safe online.
“I’m thankful to Senators Cassidy and Markey for their leadership in getting this legislation passed in the Senate and am hopeful that the House will take this bill up soon. Keeping the next generation safe online is of the utmost importance.”
Britt said she has focused on online safety and efforts to hold technology and social media companies accountable since arriving in the Senate. She has led or supported several related proposals, including the Kids Off Social Media Act, the Stop the Scroll Act and the GUARD Act.
