United States of America: Federal Trade Commission issued COPPA enforcement policy statement promoting adoption of age-verification technology

On 25 February 2026, the Federal Trade Commission issued the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Enforcement Policy Statement Promoting the Adoption of Age Verification Technology. The statement outlines the circumstances in which operators of mixed audience websites or online services and operators of general audience sites or services may use age verification mechanisms without facing enforcement action under the COPPA Rule. Under the statement, the FTC will not initiate enforcement action against such operators if they collect, use, or disclose personal information for age verification purposes without first obtaining verifiable parental consent, provided that six conditions are met. The information collected for age verification must not be used or disclosed for any other purpose. Any disclosure to third parties must be limited to entities capable of maintaining confidentiality, security, and integrity, and operators must obtain written assurances that the information will not be used for other purposes and will be deleted promptly once age verification is complete. The information must also be deleted promptly after fulfilling the age verification purpose. Operators must provide clear notice in their privacy policy, implement reasonable security safeguards, and take reasonable steps to ensure that any product, service, method, or third party used for age verification is likely to deliver reasonably accurate results regarding a user’s age. Operators remain required to comply with all other aspects of the COPPA Rule. The statement does not create substantive rights or entitlements. The FTC retains its authority to investigate and pursue violations of the COPPA Rule and has indicated that it intends to review the Rule to address age verification mechanisms in the coming months. The statement will remain in effect until final amendments to the Rule are published in the Federal Register or until it is withdrawn.