Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (1998)
Congress passed COPPA, requiring websites to get parental consent before collecting data from children under 13. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforced it with fines against major companies.
Websites added age gates and parental consent forms, and the FTC fined several companies for violations.
COPPA set the template for age-based online protections in the US and established 13 as the default threshold for children's data protection.
COPPA created the first age-gate mechanism for US online services. California's new laws extend that logic to AI chatbots and social media algorithms.
