On April 21, 2025, House Bill 1717 became Act 952, creating the Arkansas Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act.
The law extends federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)-style protections beyond children under 13 to also cover teens ages 13 to 16, making Arkansas the first state to expand federal-style privacy protections to teens.
This update applies to for-profit operators of websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications that are either directed at children or teens, or that have actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from children or teens. The law takes effect on July 1, 2026.
What Employers Need to Do
- Determine whether the organization meets the definition of “operator” under the Act, which covers for-profit websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications that are directed at children or teens or that have actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from them.
- Review online platforms and data collection practices to identify any information collected from individuals 16 or younger located in Arkansas, including identifiers, contact details, biometric data, geolocation, and any information linked or reasonably linkable to a child, teen, or parent.
- Update notice and consent processes. Provide clear notice of data practices and obtain parental consent for children 12 and under and either teen or parental consent for teens 13 to 16 before collecting personal information, and ensure consent meets the “freely and unambiguously authorizes” standard.
- Eliminate targeted advertising directed at children or teens, including any practice that collects or allows another party to access their personal information for advertising purposes.
- Implement reasonable security measures, data minimization practices, and processes to respond to deletion and correction requests for children’s and teens’ personal information.
Overview
Who is Covered
- Child: An individual 12 years of age or younger in Arkansas.
- Teen: An individual located in Arkansas who is at least 13 but younger than 17.
- Operators are not required to affirmatively collect age information they do not already collect in the normal course of business, or to implement age-gating or age-verification functionality. However, covered operators must comply when the Act applies based on a platform being directed at children or teens or based on actual knowledge.
Exclusions from “Operator”
- Certain nonprofits, gaming platforms that comply with COPPA, state agencies and institutions, and state schools are excluded from the definition of operator.
Key Requirements
- Notice and Consent: For children, parental consent is required. For teens, either the teen or the parent may consent.
- Data Minimization: Collection is limited to what is consistent with the context of the service or user relationship, or what is required by law. Personal information cannot be retained longer than reasonably necessary.
- Targeted Advertising Ban: Operators cannot collect, or allow another party to collect, use, disclose, or maintain, personal information of children or teens for targeted advertising.
- No “Pay-with-Data” Mechanics: Operators cannot condition participation in a game or prize on how much information a child discloses.
- Consumer Rights: Operators must respect deletion and correction requests for personal information of children and teens.
- Security: Operators must implement reasonable security measures to protect children’s and teens’ personal information.
Broad Definition of “Personal Information”
- The definition includes contact details, identifiers, biometric data, geolocation, and any information linked or reasonably linkable to a child, teen, or parent.
Enforcement
- Enforcement authority rests exclusively with the Arkansas Attorney General. There is no private right of action.
- Enforcement is limited to protecting the interests of Arkansas residents, even though the Act’s definition of “teen” uses “located in Arkansas” rather than “resident.”
Why This Matters
Arkansas has become the first state to extend the full breadth of federal COPPA-style protections beyond children under 13 to also cover teens ages 13 to 16, signaling a broader state-level trend toward expanded youth privacy protection.
Operators with online platforms accessible to Arkansas users, particularly those that rely on personalized advertising or handle sensitive data, face new compliance obligations that go beyond federal COPPA.
The Act also leaves several key terms undefined, so operators will need to monitor the Arkansas Attorney General’s guidance as the July 1, 2026, effective date approaches.
Key Risks for Employers
- Targeted Advertising Exposure: The Act prohibits collecting or allowing access to children’s and teens’ personal information for targeted advertising, and the Act is silent on whether consent can override this restriction.
- Ambiguity Around “Directed at” and “Actual Knowledge”: Because these terms are not defined, operators may be uncertain whether their platforms fall within scope and could face enforcement risk based on AG interpretation.
- Gaming Platform Exemption Gap: Gaming platforms that comply with federal COPPA are excluded from the definition of operator under the Act. Additional guidance may be needed to clarify how this exemption applies in practice to teen users.
- Consent and Minor Data Handling: The Act does not directly define how parental consent should be obtained for children under 13, creating implementation uncertainty for operators serving the youngest users.
Source References
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