In 1998, connecting to the Internet from home meant tying up the phone line and slowly loading low-resolution images. Since then, getting online has become as easy as pulling out a phone to watch livestreamed videos in high definition. But the main law meant to protect children online, the Children Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), hasn’t been updated since it was passed in 1998. A law designed before even MySpace came on the scene is simply inadequate for the TikTok era.
According to the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of parents say they are concerned about their preteens coming across age-inappropriate material online, and many say they feel ill-equipped to know how to monitor what their children do online. A new bipartisan piece of legislation introduced last week could offer parents important new tools.
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