COPPA Compliance & Online Research: A Parent's Guide to Child Safety
Survey Cash Club Research Desk
May 16, 2026
Understand COPPA rules, parental consent requirements, and data protection when your child participates in online surveys and research studies.
# COPPA Compliance & Online Research: A Parent's Guide to Child Safety
What COPPA Covers
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a U.S. federal law enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to safeguard the privacy of children under 13. COPPA regulates how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed online, applying to operators of commercial websites, apps, and online services directed at children or those with actual knowledge of collecting data from minors. While the law primarily targets commercial entities, its reach extends to researchers conducting studies involving children through digital platforms, even in non-commercial or academic settings.
Personal information under COPPA includes children's names, nicknames, email addresses, telephone numbers, home addresses, geolocation information, social security numbers, photos, videos, and audio files, as well as any persistent identifier or tracker that can recognize an individual's use over time.
Verifiable Parental Consent: The Core Requirement
Researchers must obtain explicit consent from parents or guardians before collecting any personal information. The consent method must be reasonably designed in light of available technology to ensure that the person giving the consent is the child's parent.
Acceptable Consent Methods
Approved methods include providing a consent form to be signed and returned by mail, fax, or electronic scan; requiring a parent to use a credit card or debit card for verification; having a parent call a toll-free number staffed by trained personnel; video conference verification; checking government-issued ID against databases; knowledge-based authentication; or facial recognition technology with government-issued photographic identification. Text messaging is also permitted, coupled with additional verification steps, provided the operator does not disclose children's personal information.
Recent Changes: 2025 COPPA Amendments
Recent amendments in 2025 have further tightened these rules, introducing stricter parental consent protocols and data retention limits.
The amendments now include biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, iris patterns, and voiceprints, alongside government-issued identifiers like passport numbers, as "personal information," significantly widening the scope of data subject to regulation.
Website and online service operators covered by COPPA will be required to obtain separate verifiable parental consent to disclose children's personal information to third-party companies related to targeted advertising or other purposes. The rule requires covered operators to only retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill a specific purpose for which it was collected.
Your Rights as a Parent
The Rule requires that operators must provide parents the opportunity to review the types or categories of personal information collected from their child, the opportunity to delete the collected information, and the opportunity to prevent further use or future collection of personal information from their child.
COPPA requires that you receive "direct notice" of information practices before collection from your kids. If an operator makes a material change to the practices you previously agreed to, you must receive an updated direct notice.
Data Security & Minimization
The emphasis on data security and retention necessitates robust safeguards to protect sensitive information. Only the information necessary for the study should be collected.
Enforcement & Penalties
Non-compliance carries serious consequences, including fines of up to $53,088 per violation and reputational harm. The FTC actively enforces COPPA, with recent high-profile cases demonstrating the agency's commitment to protecting children's online privacy.
What Parents Should Do
Ask questions: Before your child participates in any online survey or research, request the researcher's privacy policy and ask how they will protect your child's data.
Verify consent methods: Ensure the researcher uses one of the FTC-approved consent methods listed above.
Review data practices: Look closely at what information is being collected, how it's collected, how it's used, whether it's necessary for the activities, and what data security and deletion practices are in place.
Exercise your rights: Request to review, modify, or delete your child's personal information at any time.
Stay informed: As digital landscapes evolve, so do the rules governing online privacy, making it essential to stay informed and adaptable.
The Bottom Line
COPPA exists to put parents in control of their children's online information. When research companies or online platforms collect data from children under 13, they must prove they have your explicit permission using secure, verifiable methods. Understanding these protections helps you make informed decisions about your child's participation in online research and surveys.
