--- title: "United States — Children & Vulnerable Groups | Data Protection Monitor" canonical: https://dataprotection.gi/jurisdictions/united-states/children-and-vulnerable-groups/ source_html: /jurisdictions/united-states/children-and-vulnerable-groups/index.html description: "United States — Children & Vulnerable Groups: children_and_vulnerable_groups Children & Vulnerable Groups 5 sub-modules 2 claims Amber ▾ # Children's protections are comparatively mature and actively enforced, but coverag" generated_at: 2026-10-25T04:46:50Z content_sha256: 0f9cf19a9a88b6d324ae7bc200040b91a8bc3374a5fe1c4b9f5b8334584297cf generator: "fe-fleet/md-twin@1.0" --- # United States — Children & Vulnerable Groups | Data Protection Monitor ### D9Children & Vulnerable Groups5 sub-modules2 claimsAmber▾# Children's protections are comparatively mature and actively enforced, but coverage is capped at under-13 federally (teens are not covered by COPPA) and dependent-adult protections are largely unaddressed. Primary framework COPPA Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 312, as amended 2025) Supervisory authority [Federal Trade Commission (FTC)](https://www.ftc.gov) Traffic-light rationale — Amber Children's protections are comparatively mature and actively enforced, but coverage is capped at under-13 federally (teens are not covered by COPPA) and dependent-adult protections are largely unaddressed. #### Sub-modules (5) #### Age VerificationAmber The FTC's February 2026 COPPA policy statement will not pursue enforcement against operators using personal data solely to determine a user's age via age-verification technology, subject to specified conditions. Claims (1): - The FTC's February 2026 policy statement announces it will not bring COPPA Rule enforcement actions against general-audience and mixed-audience operators that collect, use, or disclose personal information solely to determine a user's age via age-verification technologies, subject to specified data-minimization and retention conditions. #### Parental ConsentAmber COPPA requires verifiable parental consent before collection/use/disclosure of a child's personal information, with 2025 amendments adding separate opt-in consent for third-party targeted-advertising disclosures. Claims (2): - The COPPA Rule requires operators of child-directed sites/services, and general-audience operators with actual knowledge, to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing a child's personal information. - 2025 COPPA Rule amendments require operators to obtain separate, verifiable parental consent before disclosing a child's personal information to third parties for targeted advertising or similar purposes. #### Minor Profiling BansAmber No general federal minor-profiling ban was identified; California's forthcoming age-assurance/parental-consent rulemaking under the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act is the most proximate state-level development. Claims (1): - California's Attorney General's office has indicated it may soon begin rulemaking on age assurance and parental consent under the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act. #### Education SettingsAmber The FTC's 2025 COPPA amendments deliberately declined to adopt ed-tech-specific provisions, deferring to the pending FERPA amendment process at the Department of Education. Claims (1): - The FTC's 2025 COPPA Rule amendments declined to adopt proposed changes relating to requirements applicable to educational technology companies operating in a school environment. #### Dependent AdultsRed No dependent-adult-specific data-protection provisions were identified in this research pass. Absence provenance: unavailable . Searched: US federal dependent adult data privacy protections, elderly data protection statute US 2026. Category narrative 83 words COPPA remains the anchor federal children's-privacy statute, applying to children under 13 and requiring verifiable parental consent; its 2025 amendments strengthen opt-in consent for third-party disclosure, add biometric/government-ID identifiers to 'personal information,' and increase Safe Harbor transparency. The FTC's February 2026 policy statement creates enforcement-discretion space for age-verification data use. California's Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act is expected to be the subject of forthcoming AG rulemaking on age assurance and parental consent. Dependent-adult-specific protections were not identified in this pass. Periodic update · new data 2026-09-28 #### Children & Vulnerable Groups The FTC issued an Enforcement Policy Statement Promoting the Adoption of Age-Verification Technology on February 25, 2026, sustaining an active enforcement priority around protecting children online and signaling continued regulatory attention to age-verification mechanisms as a compliance tool for entities handling children's data. This is a non-binding guidance instrument rather than a rule, and it does not itself impose new binding obligations, but it indicates the direction the FTC intends to push compliance expectations for entities subject to children's-privacy obligations. This sustained COPPA-adjacent enforcement priority continues a pattern of active federal attention to children's online privacy even in the absence of comprehensive federal privacy legislation covering the general population. #### Outlook Entities handling children's data should expect continued FTC attention to age-verification technology adoption as an enforcement and compliance-expectation priority. No new binding rule was identified this cycle beyond the February 2026 policy statement. Evidence 2 Sources and claims (2) - Probable[FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/02/ftc-issues-coppa-policy-statement-incentivize-use-age-verification-technologies-protect-children) — The FTC's February 2026 policy statement announces it will not bring COPPA Rule enforcement actions against general-audience and mixed-audience operators that collect, use, or disclose personal information solely to determine a user's age via age-verification technologies, subject to specified data-minimization and retention conditions.observed 2026-07-29 - Probable[IAPP](https://iapp.org/news/a/higher-fines-age-assurance-on-california-s-agenda-enforcement-to-ramp-up-in-other-states) — California's Attorney General's office has indicated it may soon begin rulemaking on age assurance and parental consent under the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act.observed 2026-07-29