Privacy

The video game industry leads in protecting children’s online data privacy and safety.

The video game industry employs several measures to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), such as:

• Posting clear and comprehensive descriptions in applicable privacy policies of how data collected from children under 13 (U13) is handled.
• Providing parents direct notice about information practices before collecting personal information from U13 children.
• Obtaining verifiable parental consent before collecting any personal information from U13 children.
• Giving parents the opportunity to review any personal information, revoke consent or delete personal information collected from their U13 children.
• Implementing reasonable procedures to protect the security of U13 children’s personal information.

With online and digital services becoming more commonplace in everyday life, the importance of protecting consumer data and privacy is critical. That is why the video game industry takes a number of affirmative steps to protect consumer privacy, including providing consumers with transparency, choice and control when it comes to managing personal information.

Congress should enact comprehensive consumer privacy legislation.  

A federal privacy framework with clear and flexible standards should be enacted as an alternative to the patchwork approach that has emerged among the U.S. states. Doing so would provide consumers with a consistent set of rights and expectations regardless of where they access online services.

The video game industry joins others in the business community in supporting a collection of consumer rights, including access, correction, deletion, portability and non-discrimination, subject to tailored and limited exceptions. Whatever is adopted—ideally at the federal level—it is critical that any privacy framework must also allow for innovation and flexibility in meeting those standards. Exemptions that enable companies to prevent fraudsters, cheaters and bad actors from taking advantage of practices, such as the right to delete information, are an example of a flexible approach that may prevent unintended consequences.

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