The penalties for failing to comply can be high. Actions can be brought at the federal level and state level. Courts can hold violators responsible for civil penalties of $43,280 for each violation. Enforcement stepped up in 2019 when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled cases against Google and YouTube for $170 million and Musical.ly (now known as TikTok) for $5.7 million.

What Is COPPA?

COPPA is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). COPPA mandates a set of rules and regulations for websites and online services, such as apps, that are directed to children less than 13 years old, or online sites or services that collect any personal information from a child less than 13.

Even if the information was given voluntarily and was not mandatory, COPPA still applies. It governs the collection or use of children’s email addresses, personal information, video, photos, audio files, or screen names if they don’t use their email address. To gather or use such information, you would need opt-in consent, parental permission, and be responsible for verifying a parent’s identity.

How COPPA Can Limit Advertising & Monetization Options

This can limit your targeting and advertising options greatly. It negates the use of passive tracking, such as pixels or cookies, without expressed permission. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) advises that any form of measurement relying on personal information is a violation of COPPA rules if a user is under 13. Their best practices include turning off data collection from an ad and using the best available technology to strip trackers.

The increased use of apps on mobile has moved many advertisers and providers to rely less on cookies and increase the use of persistent identifiers. When someone logs into an email or social media account and stays logged in, they can be recognized wherever they are on the web or mobile. This persistent ID can effectively be used to track users. However, persistent identifiers are not allowed under COPPA. 

While all of this is restrictive and can greatly damage a publisher’s resulting ad revenue, these measures were put in place to protect children and limit exploitation. They prohibit some common advertising and marketing tactics, but there are solutions that you can use for monetization. The IAB recommends the use of contextual targeting. This avoids using behavioral or targeting based on audience aggregation for children.

Primis Provides Safe Video Monetization For COPPA Compliant Websites

Primis offers smart video monetization solutions to COPPA regulated sites and apps with safe demand, as part of its Video Discovery Platform. 

Contextual targeting, which is an important element in the Primis Discovery Engine, is applied to safe channels in two manners. First, demand sources that are implemented for COPPA sites are utilizing contextual targeting as a safe substitute for behavioral targeting. Second, the unit matches video content to every article thereby raising engagement rates, and the resulting video consumption on site. 

Primis provides publishers with a fully customizable video unit that integrates into sites and apps seamlessly. Publishers can use their own video and/or choose from a library of hundreds of thousands of engaging and appropriate videos created for children. 

Primis works with sites and apps that cater to children, such as gaming and educational websites, and therefore provide them with a high-quality video solution in a safe manner. Serving the right video content to capture kids’ attention on those digital assets increases their engagement and experience, while boosting the site’s revenue stream.

Maximize video distribution and optimization with Primis, the video discovery platform. Contact Primis today and let us show you what we can do.

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