The Federal Trade Commission has extended by 60 days the deadline for it to determine whether to approve an application from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and others for a new mechanism for obtaining parental consent under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule. The new deadline is March 29, 2024.
The ESRB along with two companies, Yoti and SuperAwesome, submitted the application in June 2023 for approval for the use of “Privacy-Protective Facial Age Estimation” technology, which analyzes the geometry of a user’s face to confirm that they are an adult. ESRB currently operates a COPPA safe harbor program.
As required by the COPPA Rule, the FTC in July sought comment on the application. After receiving more than 350 comments, the Commission in September issued its first extension of the deadline until January 29.
The Commission voted 3-0 to extend the deadline to determine whether to approve the ESRB application until March 29.