AI meets COPPA.
9/18/20251 min read
📚 AI Meets COPPA: Are Kids’ Conversations Really Private?
The FTC’s new inquiry into AI chatbots isn’t just about innovation—it’s about children’s privacy.
On September 11, 2025, the FTC ordered seven companies—OpenAI, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Instagram, Character.ai, and xAI—to turn over information on how they handle data from kids and teens. The trigger? Chatbots that don’t just answer questions but act like companions. 🤖💬
🛡️ What COPPA Was Meant to Do
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was designed in 1998 to protect kids under 13 online. Back then, it was about websites collecting names, emails, or cookies.
Today, it’s about chatbots logging entire conversations. That’s not just metadata—it’s feelings, secrets, late-night confessions.
➡️ How private should a child’s conversation with an AI really be?
➡️ Should parents have access, or should it be sealed like a diary?
➡️ What happens when those conversations are stored, analyzed, and possibly monetized?
⚠️ Why This Inquiry Matters
The FTC wants to know:
Are kids’ conversations used to train AI models?
What disclosures are parents actually seeing?
Do current company safeguards go beyond the bare minimum?
This isn’t just compliance paperwork. It’s about whether laws written for the dial-up era can handle AI “friends” that feel human.
💡 The Big Questions for All of Us
Should kids and teens ever be allowed to form relationships with AI companions?
Do existing privacy laws like COPPA go far enough, or do we need a new framework?
Where’s the line between protection and overreach?
🌍 The Bottom Line
AI companions are here. They can provide comfort—but they can also blur lines between support and surveillance.
As the FTC digs in, the bigger debate is cultural, not just legal:
➡️ What does it mean for a child to trust an algorithm like a friend?
➡️ How much privacy should kids have—and who decides?
➡️ Do you think COPPA is strong enough for this AI era, or is it time for new rules that reflect how kids actually live online today?
#AI #ChildSafety #FTC #Privacy #COPPA #Ethics #AICompanions #Chatbots