[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 138 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46705-46706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15415]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 312

RIN 3084-AB58


Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Proposed Parental 
Consent Method; Application of the ESRB Group for Approval of Parental 
Consent Method

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) requests 
public comment concerning the proposed parental consent method 
submitted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, Yoti Ltd. and 
Yoti (USA) Inc., and SuperAwesome Ltd. (``the ESRB group''), under the 
Voluntary Commission Approval Processes provision of the Children's 
Online Privacy Protection Rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Invitation to Comment portion of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Application for 
Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' on your comment and file 
your comment online through https://regulations.gov.
    If you prefer to file a comment in hard copy, please write 
``Application for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' 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 P), Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peder Magee, Attorney, (202-326-3538), 
or James Trilling, Attorney, (202-326-3497), 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 website 
operators, among other things, to post privacy policies, provide 
notice, and 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 interested parties to file a written 
request for Commission approval of parental consent methods not 
currently enumerated.\4\ To be considered, parties 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to 16 CFR 312.12(a), the ESRB group has submitted a 
proposed parental consent method to the Commission for approval. The 
ESRB group proposes a consent mechanism that uses facial age estimation 
technology, which analyzes the geometry of the consenting person's face 
to confirm the person is an adult. The full text of its application is 
available on the Commission's website at www.ftc.gov and on the docket 
for this project at www.regulations.gov.

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 application 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 
data, statistics, or any other evidence, upon which those comments are 
based.
    1. Is this method already covered by existing methods enumerated in 
16 CFR 312.5(b)(2)?
    2. If this is a new method, provide comments on whether the 
proposed parental consent method 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, considering 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, including consumers' biometric information? If so, is that 
risk outweighed by the benefit to consumers and businesses of using 
this method?
    4. Does this proposed method pose a risk of disproportionate error 
rates or other outcomes for particular demographic groups? 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 August 21, 2023. 
Write ``Application for Parental Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' 
on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including the 
https://www.regulations.gov website.
    Because of the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail 
addressed to the Commission is subject to delay. We strongly encourage 
you to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov website. To make sure the Commission considers your 
online comment, please follow the instructions on the web-based form.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Application for Parental 
Consent Method, Project No. P235402'' 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 P), Washington, DC 20580.
    Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible 
website at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for 
making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or 
confidential information. In particular, your comment should not 
include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone 
else's 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

[[Page 46706]]

comment does not include any sensitive health information, including 
medical records or other individually identifiable health information. 
In addition, your comment should not include any ``[t]rade secret or 
any commercial or financial information which is . . . privileged or 
confidential''--as provided by 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)--including in 
particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales 
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing 
processes, or customer names.
    Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is 
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled 
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). 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. Your comment will be kept confidential only if the 
General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest. Once your comment has been posted publicly at 
www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact or remove your comment unless you 
submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such 
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that 
request.
    Visit the FTC website to read this publication 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 
August 21, 2023. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, 
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

    By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-15415 Filed 7-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P