FTC COPPA policy statement on age-verification technology forbearance

On 25 February 2026 the FTC issued a COPPA policy statement announcing it will not bring an enforcement action under the COPPA Rule against certain operators that collect, use and disclose personal information for the sole purpose of determining a user’s age via age-verification technologies — if stated conditions are met.

Conditions (FTC press summary)

Applies to operators of general audience and mixed audience sites/services. Conditions include: no use/disclosure of age-verification information except to determine age; no retention longer than necessary, with prompt deletion; clear notice to parents and children; reasonable security safeguards; disclosure only to third parties the operator has taken reasonable steps to determine can maintain confidentiality/security/integrity; and reasonable steps to ensure the method is likely to provide reasonably accurate age results. The statement remains effective until final rule amendments on the issue are published in the Federal Register, or until withdrawn. The Commission intends to review the COPPA Rule on age-verification mechanisms.

Operator action

Child-directed services remain under full COPPA notice/consent duties; this is not a free pass to profile minors.

Download the change-log card.

Research checked 20 September 2026. Local draft; human editorial review pending.