Washington, D.C. (April 15, 2013) – Today, the Application Developers Alliance is asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to delay the effective date of changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The revised rules, which go into effect July 1, create significant new obligations for app developers and their partners.
Delaying the rules would give developers more time to understand the requirements, to consult with partners regarding re-engineering their apps, and to make the necessary changes. Additional time will also give the FTC an opportunity to provide guidance materials that promote compliance.
“The revised COPPA rules require apps to make extensive engineering and user interface changes. With only eleven weeks until the effective date, many developers—particularly small developers—are simply not ready,” said Jon Potter, President of the Application Developers Alliance.
“App developers must coordinate big changes within a complex network of publishers, platforms, marketers, advertising networks, data analysts, and storage and infrastructure providers. The rule changes are significant, the penalties are severe, and the deadline is close,” Potter concluded.
“Changing our apps puts a huge strain on small teams and individual developers who simply don’t have the resources to meet current deadlines. This can’t help but slow development and innovation. And it is fundamentally unfair,” said kids’ app developer Sam Tannen, of Corky Portwine.
The Alliance is requesting a delay of implementation until no earlier than January 1, 2014. Read the Alliance request.
About the Application Developers Alliance
The Application Developers Alliance is an industry association dedicated to meeting the unique needs of application developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Alliance members include more than 20,000 individual application developers and more than 100 companies in the apps ecosystem.
