WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), legislation he cosponsored to protect children online and safeguard their privacy, and hold Big Tech accountable.

Heinrich has been a cosponsor of the COPPA 2.0 since the 118th Congress.

Specifically, the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act will:

• Ban targeted advertising to children and teens;
• Create an "Eraser Button" by requiring companies to permit users to delete personal information collected from a child or teen;
• Establish data minimization rules to prohibit the excessive collection of children and teens' data;
• Revise COPPA's "actual knowledge" standard to close the loophole that allows platforms to ignore kids and teens on their site; and
• Build on COPPA by prohibiting internet companies from collecting personal information from users who are 13 to 16 years old without their consent.

The COPPA 2.0 is led by U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Alongside Heinrich the COPPA 2.0 is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Shelly-Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Katie Britt (R-Ala.).

The legislation is endorsed by AASA - the School Superintendents Association, ACCESS Lab - Washington University in St. Louis, Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, Association of Educational Service Agencies, Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, Carolina Resource Center for Eating Disorders, Center for Change, Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Humane Technology, Centerstone, CHILD USA, Children's Justice Fund, Common Sense Media, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Watchdog, Defending the Early Years, Design It For Us, Early Childhood Work Group, Screen Time Action Network, Eating Disorder Foundation, Eating Disorders Coalition, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Fairplay, Farrington Specialty Centers, Foolproof, IFEDD - The International Federation of Eating Disorder Dietitians, Inseparable, International Society for Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses, Issue One, Lines for Life, Marsh Law Firm PPLC, Mentari, MO Eating Disorders Council, Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association, Inc. (MEDA), National Association for Pupil Transportation, National Association of School Nurses, National Federation of Families, National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), National Rural Education Association, Network for Public Education, P.E.A.C.E (Peace Educators Allied for Children Everywhere), Parents Who Fight, Phone Free Schools Movement, Public Interest Privacy Center (PIPC), Postpartum Support International, Prosperity Eating Disorders and Wellness, Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), Public Citizen, PEDC, REGO Payment Architectures, Sandy Hook Promise, Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders, Student Data Privacy Project, University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, Western Youth Services, Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force, and Young People's Alliance.

The text of the bill is here.

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