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Concurring Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson

Federal Trade Commission Report to Congress

COPPA Staffing, Enforcement and Remedies

Matter No. P155401

August 18, 2022

Today the Commission is submitting to Congress a Federal Trade Commission Report to 

Congress on COPPA Staffing, Enforcement and Remedies (Report). As a Commissioner, I have 

been keenly focused on children’s privacy.1 I take pride in the array of COPPA cases we have 

brought during my tenure; thanks to our talented staff, many of those cases featured novel 

remedies and stiff monetary relief. I supported launching a review of our COPPA Rule in July 

2019 “to make certain that the COPPA Rule keeps pace with changes in technology, the 

development of new business models that involve data collection, and the evolving ways 

children interact with online services.” 2 And I have eagerly anticipated revisions to the COPPA 

Rule that would further strengthen children’s protections online – but more than three years later, 

that wait continues. As I explain in more detail below, I encourage Chair Khan to allocate the 

resources necessary to protect our vulnerable youth. The issuance of a Commission policy 

statement that merely recycles existing staff guidance is no substitute for concrete action in this 

important area.3 In short, I agree with Chair Khan that we must use all the tools in our toolkit to 

halt wrongdoing.4

1 See, e.g., Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson, Trade Regulation Rule Regarding 

Commercial Surveillance and Data Security (Aug. 11, 2022) (hereinafter “Privacy ANPRM”), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Commissioner%20Wilson%20Dissent%20ANPRM%20FINAL%2008

112022.pdf (discussing the Kids Online Safety Act and urging Congress to pass legislation protecting children’s 

privacy); Christine S. Wilson, Oral Remarks at Open Commission Meeting, Policy Statement on Educational 

Technology and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (May 19, 2022) (hereinafter “COPPA Policy 

Statement”), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/P155401WilsonRemarks_0.pdf; Joint Statement of FTC 

Commissioners Chopra, Slaughter, and Wilson Regarding Social Media and Video Streaming Service Providers’ 

Privacy Practices (Dec. 14, 2020), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1584150/joint_statement_of_ftc_commissioners_cho

pra_slaughter_and_wilson_regarding_social_media_and_video.pdf (noting that the orders “push to uncover how 

children and families are targeted and categorized”); Christine S. Wilson, Remarks at Global Antitrust Institute, FTC 

v. Facebook (Dec. 11, 2019), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1557534/commissioner_wilson_remarks_at_global_

antitrust_institute_12112019.pdf (discussing, inter alia, my work with staff to secure the provisions of the Facebook 

order violation settlement that provide heightened review for products targeted to minors); Christine S. Wilson, The 

FTC’s Role in Supporting Online Safety (Nov. 21, 2019), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1557684/commissioner_wilson_remarks_at_the_fam

ily_online_safety_institute_11-21-19.pdf; Christine S. Wilson, Opening Remarks at FTC Workshop: The Future of 

the COPPA Rule (Oct. 7, 2019) (hereinafter “The Future of the COPPA Rule”), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1547693/wilson_-

_ftc_coppa_workshop_opening_remarks_10-7-19.pdf.

2 The Future of the COPPA Rule, supra n. 1.

3 COPPA Policy Statement, supra n. 1. 

4 See Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan Regarding Policy Statement on Education Technology and the Children’s 

Online Privacy Protection Act (May 19, 2022), 
2

The Consolidated Appropriations Act Committee Report directed the FTC to provide “a report 

detailing the current amount of resources and personnel focused on enforcing the COPPA Rule; 

the number of investigations into violations of the COPPA Rule in the past 5 years; and the types 

of relief obtained, if any, for any completed investigations.”5 The Report accurately describes the 

COPPA enforcement actions the Commission has taken in the past five years, including the use 

of creative and evolving remedies that reflect an ongoing effort to strengthen the deterrent effects 

of our orders. FTC staff has done an excellent job of identifying potential COPPA violations, 

conducting thorough investigations, and securing meaningful relief. 

The Committee also requested that the FTC “incorporate findings from new and recent cases 

relating to children’s privacy into its ongoing COPPA Rule review process,”6 but did not 

explicitly request an update regarding the status of the COPPA Rule review. Given the 

importance of this issue, I urge the Committee to seek information regarding the status of, and 

the level of resources devoted to, the COPPA Rule review to determine whether it is being 

appropriately prioritized or given short shrift. While I believe additional legislation is necessary 

to protect our children online,7 we have significant opportunities now to increase the protections 

provided by the COPPA Rule.8 The Committee can and should hold the Commission 

accountable for using all the tools in its toolkit.9

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/P155401KhanStatementCOPPA.pdf (noting that “COPPA is a critical 

tool in the FTC’s toolbox, one that we will use vigorously”); accord Rohit Chopra & Samuel A. Levine The Case 

for Resurrecting the FTC Act’s Penalty Offense Authority, 170 U. PA. L. REV. 71 (2021), available at: 

https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol170/iss1/3 (stating that “[w]hen it comes to holding tech 

behemoths accountable for harm to consumers and fair competition, the Commission must use every tool in its 

toolbox.”)

5 Joint Explanatory Statement published in the Congressional Record on March 9, 2022, at H2349, 

https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2022/03/09/168/42/CREC-2022-03-09-pt3-PgH1709.pdf, accompanying the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, H.R. 2471 (Pub. L. 117-103), incorporated by reference House Report 117-

79, https://www.congress.gov/117/crpt/hrpt79/CRPT-117hrpt79.pdf, at 72-73.

6 Id.

7 Privacy ANPRM, supra n. 1 (discussing the Kids Online Safety Act and urging Congress to pass legislation 

protecting children’s privacy).

8 See, e.g., Laura Moy, Angela Campbell, Lindsey Barrett, Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood and Center 

for Digital Democracy, In the Matter of Request for Public Comment on the Federal Trade Commission’s 

Implementation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (Dec. 11, 2019), https://fairplayforkids.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/12/CCFC-COPPA-comments.pdf (discussing ways to strengthen COPPA in keeping with 

legislative intent).

9 See Statement of Chair Khan, supra n. 4. 
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As a practical matter, Chair Khan controls completely the resource allocation decisions of the 

agency.10 Once again, I encourage the Chair to prioritize this Rule review11 and ensure that 

sufficient resources are being devoted to this critical area. Issuing a policy statement that 

discusses how the Commission will enforce the COPPA Rule12 ‒ especially when that policy 

statement merely recycles existing staff guidance to businesses and consumers ‒ may grab the 

attention of the White House13 and win column inches,

14 but it does not create enforceable 

obligations that the Commission can use to hold wrongdoers accountable for violations of 

children’s privacy.15 Our taxpayers deserve, and our children need, concrete actions that provide 

enforceable protections.

I also encourage Chair Khan to allocate appropriate resources to our ongoing COPPA and 

broader privacy investigations, and to act decisively when providing guidance on consent 

negotiations. Starving key investigations of needed resources, succumbing to decision paralysis, 

and stalling or expediting matters based on current events (or political winds) all do a grave 

disservice to the consumers we are charged with protecting. When the consumers at issue are 

minors, a failure to act swiftly and decisively to halt ongoing wrongdoing is particularly 

egregious.16

Data privacy is a sphere characterized by substantial information asymmetries; consumers have 

little knowledge of the full scope of data collection, usage, sharing, and monetization of their 

10 Technically, Reorganization Plan No. 8 reserves for the Commission the right to determine “the distribution of 

appropriated funds according to major programs and purposes.” 15 F.R. 3175 Section 1(b)(4) (1950). Chair Khan, 

however, has reallocated significant resources from other offices and divisions to the Bureau of Competition without 

full Commission approval. See Lina Khan, Memorandum to Commission Staff and Commissioners, Vision and 

Priorities for the FTC (Sept. 22, 2021), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1596664/agency_priorities_memo_from_chair_lina_

m_khan_9-22-21.pdf.

11 See Privacy ANPRM, supra n. 1; COPPA Policy Statement, supra n. 1.

12 FTC Press Release: FTC to Crack Down on Companies that Illegally Surveil Children Learning Online (May 19, 

2022), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/05/ftc-crack-down-companies-illegally-surveilchildren-learning-online. 

13 The White House, Statement from President Biden on FTC Vote to Protect Children’s Privacy (May 19, 2022), 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/19/statement-from-president-biden-on-ftcvote-to-protect-childrens-privacy.

14 See, e.g., Andrea Vittorio, “EdTech Tools Coming Under FTC Scrutiny Over Children’s Privacy, BLOOMBERG 

LAW (May 13, 2022), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/edtech-tools-coming-under-ftcscrutiny-over-childrens-privacy; Margaret Harding McGill, “FTC to set its sights on ed tech companies,” Axios 

(May 19, 2022), https://www.axios.com/2022/05/19/ftc-ed-tech-companies-enforcement;Courtney Robinson, “FTC 

cracking down on ed tech companies,” WTSP (May 19, 2022), https://www.wtsp.com/article/tech/ftc-ed-techcompanies-children-privacy-online/67-8485f2e1-fde3-4091-acc2-0dbfba5e6d3b; Sara Geoghegan, Schoolwork 

Without Surveillance: The FTC’s Crackdown on Ed Tech Privacy Abuses, EPIC (May 26, 2022), 

https://epic.org/schoolwork-without-surveillance-the-ftcs-crackdown-on-ed-tech-privacy-abuses/. 

15 See COPPA Policy Statement, supra n. 1.

16 Concurring Statement of Commissioner Christine S. Wilson, R360, LLC ( May 17, 2022) 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2022-05-17-R360-Commissioner-Wilson-Statement-FINAL.pdf

(discussing the need to avoid unnecessary delays in prosecuting wrongdoing and announcing enforcement actions).
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information.17 Bringing cases to a swift conclusion and announcing enforcement actions 

provides much-needed notice to the public and empowers consumers to take action to protect 

their privacy. And finalized orders that require companies to establish and maintain 

comprehensive privacy and data security programs, a key feature in Commission privacy orders, 

create enforceable obligations that protect consumers. I cannot think of a more important area to 

prioritize at the Commission than the well-being of our children.

17 See Nathan Malkin et al., Privacy Attitudes of Smart Speaker Users, 2019 PROC. PRIVACY ENHANCING 

TECH. 250, 251 (2019), https://petsymposium.org/2019/files/papers/issue4/popets-2019-0068.pdf (describing 

survey of smart speaker users that found half of the participants did not know their recordings were being 

permanently stored and did not want their children’s interactions with the device stored at all).