Kids used to dream of the day they turned 15 and could get a learner's permit. Now, more like as not, they dream of the day they turn 13 and can legally use most of the Internet.
The Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), first enacted by the Federal Trade Commission in 1998, requires websites to get parents' consent before collecting any personal information from kids under age 13. Because of the
cost and hassle of complying with COPPA, many websites just
block kids from using them altogether.
Enter
PRIVO, an online credentialing service based in McLean. Until now, PRIVO has sold its service to businesses that want to better navigate COPPA. Now, the company is rolling out a beta version of its service that will allow parents to create a PRIVO ID directly. Kids can use that ID to access any number of websites that support PRIVO, just as an adult might use her Google account to log in to Pinterest or another third-party site.
"We're a trusted third-party service that handles children's identification and parents' authorization online," Denise Tayloe, president and CEO of PRIVO, says. The company is also part of the
safe harbor program, which means it works with companies, even ones that don't use PRIVO's credentialing system, to stay in compliance with COPPA.
Right now, businesses use PRIVO to verify that kids actually have their parents' permission to be active on their websites and mobile apps. Tayloe counts NASA and Moshi Monsters among her current roster of
clients.
Yes, even websites that market directly to kids have to implement strict controls. Under COPPA,
every time a website changes its privacy policy, it has to notify parents again.
"Kids are being marginalized," says Tayloe. "They can't get to services that are being marketed to them. Many parents don't even know there's a law [COPPA]. Kids know that there is a law, but they don't know what it is."
PRIVO's online ID service to parents by mid-April. PRIVO will also be raising a $10 million Series B round in the spring. The company previously raised $1.8 million in 2014 and $750,000 in 2013; they currently employ 11 full-time and have 8 full-time contractors on staff. "We're looking for global partners, both strategic and venture," she says.