Category Archives: The Accountability Studio

COPPA Questions: Are Safe Harbors Effective?



As the drumbeat to modernize the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) continues, all components of the 1998 law have come under scrutiny, particularly the Safe Harbor provision. Under COPPA, the FTC has the ability to approve industry groups to administer self-regulatory programs implementing the protections for children outlined in the rule. Recently, some lawmakers have raised concerns that Safe Harbors are not an effective complement to the COPPA rule and might even be allowing for the rubberstamping of businesses that take advantage of Safe Harbors.

To answer this question of whether or Safe Harbors are effective, Mamie Kresses, Vice President of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), hosted a discussion with two people who have been very involved in COPPA compliance from different perspectives: Sheila Millar, Partner at Keller and Heckman, and Daniel Kaufman, Partner at Baker Hostetler and former Deputy Director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection. Listen in to hear these experts’ thoughts on the value of the Safe Harbor provision, whether it should remain a part of the rule going forward, and ways the provision can be modernized and improved.

For more information about this episode, read the show notes here

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Data Privacy Accountability in Practice: A Case Study of Cisco



In this episode of The Accountability Studio, host Cobun Zweifel-Keegan is joined by two industry professionals for a deep-dive into one company’s innovative approach to data privacy, accountability, and trust. Listen in to hear Josh Harris, BBB National Programs’ Director of Global Privacy Initiatives, and Harvey Jang, Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer at Cisco discuss how Cisco developed its privacy program and how he and his team made privacy a business imperative for the company.

For more information about this episode, read the show notes here

Love what you’ve heard? Tell us how we can deliver you more great conversations. Share your insights and suggestions for future episodes. 


What Do CARU’s Revised Guidelines Mean for Advertisers?



Despite this generation’s comfort navigating digital spaces today, they still face the same cognitive limitations – and therefore, vulnerabilities – that they always have. This reality is just one of the reasons that BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) recently issued revised guidelines to assure that advertising directed to children is not deceptive, unfair, or inappropriate for its intended audience.

In this episode of the Accountability Studio, Mary Engle, Executive Vice President of Policy at BBB National Programs and Mamie Kresses, Vice President of CARU talk through the most significant revisions to the guidelines and explain what these changes mean for advertisers. Tune in to learn how advertisers can help shrink the gap between a child’s needs online and the safeguards in place to protect them.

For more information about this episode, read the show notes here


The Past and Future of Privacy Accountability: Is CBPR a Model?



In this episode of The Accountability Studio, Moderator Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, Deputy Director of Privacy Initiatives at BBB National Programs, is joined by two industry professionals for an informative conversation on the cross-border privacy rules (CBPR) system, a voluntary framework with a global impact. BBB National Programs Director of Global Privacy Initiatives Josh Harris,  and Sam Schofield, International Trade Specialist, Global Data Privacy, share their knowledge on the purpose and vision of the multi-layered Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CBPR system.

For more information about this episode, read the show notes here

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility



In the inaugural episode of The Accountability Studio, moderator Mary Engle, Executive Vice President, Policy poses a fundamental question to the leadership of BBB National Programs: Does independent, industry self-regulation really work? Program leaders responded with an empathic ‘yes,’ but also laid out the numerous factors that can contribute to the success or failure of a self-regulatory initiative. Tune in to hear them discuss the problems in the marketplace that led to the creation of each of their programs, how their programs work, and what they think the future of independent industry self-regulation will look like.

For more information about this episode, read the show notes here