Federal regulators are expected to release an updated set of rules to protect children's online privacy by the end of the year, according to reports.
The rules need to be updated to reflect the age of smartphones and social media; the last time the Federal Trade Commission visited the topic, with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, was 1998, according to Reuters.
The new rules would require Web sites and apps to get parental consent before they collect data about children aged 12 or younger, Reuters reported. This is the data then swapped by data brokers.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said he hopes these rules can be put in place by the end of the year, but he added that "do not track" efforts may be less successful. Advertisers have "pushed back hard" against efforts to prevent tracking.
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