The US Is Not Alone in Regulating Children’s Data Privacy. Here’s a Primer on the Global State of Play.

Policymakers worldwide are advancing laws to protect children and teens’ data, with regulations extending beyond privacy into product governance and algorithmic accountability:

• The US is strengthening its federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rules and rolling out state‑level age‑verification and design requirements.
• The European Union is enforcing new age‑assurance standards and considering General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) updates that could affect how companies collect and use minors’
• The UK has overlapping frameworks—including the age‑appropriate design code and Online Safety Act—that impose stricter design, data‑use, and risk‑assessment obligations.
• Australia is implementing coordinated age‑verification, parental‑control, and platform‑safety mandates across social media, search, and apps.

Ceren Canal Aruoba argues that to mitigate risk, corporate leaders can:

• support decision-making with proper analytics tools
• rethink how interfaces appeal to cognitive and behavioral vulnerabilities, especially in relation to data collection and consent for minors
• ensure effective governance, metrics, and cross-functional communications

These steps will help companies prepare for global convergence around age assurance, limits on engagement‑driven features, and stricter enforcement.

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