[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70135-70136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27803]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 312

RIN 3084-AB20


Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule: AgeCheq Application 
for Parental Consent Method

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission publishes this request for public 
comment concerning a proposed parental consent method submitted by 
AgeCheq Inc. (``AgeCheq'') under the Voluntary Commission Approval 
Processes provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. 
This is the second proposed new method submitted by AgeCheq.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 29, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``AgeCheq Application 
for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P-155400'' on your comment, 
and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/FTC/coppaagecheqapp2/ by following the instructions on the web-based form. 
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``AgeCheq 
Application for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P-155400 on your 
comment and on the envelope and mail your comment to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex K), Washington, DC 20580, 
or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th 
Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex K), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miry Kim, Attorney, (202) 326-3622, 
Kandi Parsons, Attorney, (202) 326-2369, or Peder Magee, Attorney, 
(202) 326-3538, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal 
Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section A. Background

    On October 20, 1999, the Commission issued its final Rule \1\ 
pursuant to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 
6501 et seq., which became effective on April 21, 2000.\2\ On December 
19, 2012, the Commission amended the Rule, and these amendments became 
effective on July 1, 2013.\3\ The Rule requires certain Web site 
operators to post privacy policies and provide notice, and to obtain 
verifiable parental consent, prior to collecting, using, or disclosing 
personal information from children under the age of 13. The Rule 
enumerates methods for obtaining verifiable parental consent, while 
also allowing an interested party to file a written request for 
Commission approval of parental consent methods not currently 
enumerated.\4\ To be considered, the party must submit a detailed 
description of the proposed parental consent method, together with an 
analysis of how the method meets the requirements for parental consent 
described in 16 CFR 312.5(b)(1). When a party requests approval of a 
proposed new method, the Rule states that the Commission ``will publish 
in the Federal Register a document seeking public comment on the 
request.'' \5\ Seeking public comment on a proposed new method does not 
indicate that the

[[Page 70136]]

Commission has taken a position, positive or negative, on the merits of 
the application.
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    \1\ 64 FR 59888 (1999).
    \2\ 16 CFR part 312.
    \3\ 78 FR 3972 (2013).
    \4\ 16 CFR 312.12(a); 78 FR at 3991-3992, 4013.
    \5\ 16 CFR 312.12.
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    Pursuant to Sec.  312.12(a) of the Rule, AgeCheq has submitted a 
proposed parental consent method to the Commission for approval. The 
full text of its application is available on the Commission's Web site 
at www.ftc.gov. (To be clear, this is the second such application 
submitted by AgeCheq. The first is available at http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/08/ftc-seeks-public-comment-agecheq-inc-proposal-parental. The comment period on the first application has 
now closed.)

Section B. Questions on the Parental Consent Method

    The Commission is seeking comment on the proposed parental consent 
method, and is particularly interested in receiving comment on the 
questions that follow. These questions are designed to assist the 
Commission's consideration of the petition and should not be construed 
as a limitation on the issues on which public comment may be submitted. 
Responses to these questions should cite the number of the question 
being answered. For all comments submitted, please provide any relevant 
data, statistics, or any other evidence, upon which those comments are 
based.
    1. Does the proposed method, both with respect to the process for 
obtaining consent for an initial operator and any subsequent operators, 
constitute a new methodology or is it already covered by existing 
methods enumerated in Sec.  312.5(b)(1) of the Rule?
    2. If this is a new method, provide comments on whether the 
proposed parental consent method, both with respect to an initial 
operator and any subsequent operators, meets the requirements for 
parental consent laid out in 16 CFR 312.5(b)(1). Specifically, the 
Commission is looking for comments on whether the proposed parental 
consent method is reasonably calculated, in light of available 
technology, to ensure that the person providing consent is the child's 
parent.
    3. Does this proposed method pose a risk to consumers' personal 
information? If so, is that risk outweighed by the benefit to consumers 
and businesses of using this method?

Section C. Invitation To Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before December 29, 
2014. Write ``AgeCheq Application for Parental Consent Method, Project 
No. P-155400'' on your comment and file your comment. Your comment--
including your name and your state--will be placed on the public record 
of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the 
Commission Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a 
matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home 
contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission 
Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive personal information, such as Social Security number, date of 
birth, driver's license number or other state identification number or 
foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, 
or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for 
making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health 
information, including medical records or other individually 
identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any 
``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is . 
. . privileged or confidential,'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the 
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). 
In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such 
as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\5\ Your comment will be kept confidential only 
if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your 
request in accordance with the law and the public interest.
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    \5\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/FTC/coppaagecheqapp2/, by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``AgeCheq Application for 
Parental Consent Method, Project No. P-155400'' on your comment and on 
the envelope, and mail it to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 
CC-5610 (Annex K), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex 
K), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before December 29, 2014. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-27803 Filed 11-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P