FTC’s COPPA Enforcement Action Provides Lessons for Edtech Providers

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced an enforcement order against edtech company Edmodo for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. 

In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Edmodo violated COPPA by collecting, using, and disclosing personal information from children without obtaining "verifiable parental consent," and retaining the personal information collected for longer than the FTC asserted was reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected.

In addition, the FTC alleged that Edmodo had illegally delegated its COPPA compliance obligations to schools under its terms of use in violation of the FTC Act's prohibition on unfair practices. This case contains a few notable firsts in the edtech context, including the first time the FTC has alleged an unfair trade practice in the context of an operator's interaction with schools, and through this enforcement action, it continues to reinforce its position that edtech providers cannot offboard their privacy obligations to the schools they service. This Update discusses the key points from the enforcement order.

Read the full Update here.