Compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a critical component to the design and execution of digital and mobile products and marketing plans. Whether your company is building a website for children, has an app in development or is designing a digital or mobile marketing strategy targeted to children, you need to understand what is required under COPPA, and know how to plan and design accordingly.

Designing social environments for children and teens comes with the added responsibility of creating safe and supportive experiences for your young users. Developing these communities requires tools and practices that will extend beyond the required privacy framework. PlayWell provides education, training, product assessments and guidance to help our clients understand the regulatory requirements, self-regulatory guidelines and industry best practices in the digital and mobile space.

PlayWell also partners with clients on development of community rules and education, enforcement practices, reporting options, economies, social connection parameters, user-generated solicitations and promotions.

Education technology products have the power to transform the lives of students of all ages and grades. However, developers and operators of these products must be mindful of the extraordinary revolution in compliance that their industry is subject to. While FERPA technically applies to the school systems, it is incumbent upon technology providers to comply with the requirements in order to be accepted by the schools and to properly protect student data privacy.

PlayWell provides education, training, product assessments and guidance to help our clients understand and align with the regulatory requirements, self-regulatory guidelines and industry best practices that apply to education technology. PlayWell also partners with clients on development of company guidelines and materials to help support schools in their compliance efforts.

The buying power and influence of children has been estimated at multi-billion dollar levels. As savvy marketers, you know that this is a demographic that can move the needle on your brand, but it is also a group that requires special considerations and protections. Marketing to children is also one area of the industry that has drawn considerable regulatory and self-regulatory attention.

PlayWell provides education and training sessions on a variety of compliance concerns that surround marketing to young consumers. Each of these sessions can be customized to a particular line of business or product category. In addition, we will review your project concepts and provide risk assessments and solutions to help you meet your business goals responsibly.

The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) is a self-regulatory program begun in 2006 under the auspices of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The program is part of the industry’s efforts to be part of the solution to the epidemic of childhood obesity. It is designed to shift the mix of foods advertised to children under 12 to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles.

PlayWell provides clients with information and guidance on the CFBAI program and the history of the regulatory and self-regulatory scrutiny surrounding the relationship of advertising and marketing to childhood obesity. PlayWell also helps companies design their plan for participating in the CFBAI program, as well as managing internal compliance.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Children’s Television Act (CTA) was established in 1990, in part to help prevent the over-commercialization of children’s television. In addition to establishing limits on commercial time during children’s programming, the modern Act extends to promotion of program-related websites on air.

Writers, producers, broadcasters, licensees, media buyers and advertising schedulers need to understand the Act and its implications for development of programming and placement of advertising on all platforms.

PlayWell provides extensive education on the CTA, how it’s been enforced, development of compliance systems and processes for program providers, and information about what clients can expect when scheduling advertising in children’s media.

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) is children’s advertising arm of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council (ASRC), administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. CARU serves as the self-regulatory body of the children’s advertising industry. Their purview is advertising that is primarily directed to children under 12 in any medium and online data collection and other privacy practices by website operators that know or should know that they are targeting children under 13.

PlayWell teaches clients about CARU’s history, its guidelines, influence and areas of scrutiny. In addition, we will assess your advertising and partner with your creative team on compliance.

No modern marketer ignores the opportunities that social media provides to extend the reach of a campaign. However, marketing to children and teens on these platforms requires extra attention to areas such as privacy, safety, appropriateness of the platform for your intended audience and compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s Testimonial and Endorsement Guidelines.

PlayWell partners with clients on selection of age-appropriate platforms and design of campaigns to ensure that they are speaking to the platform’s designated audience. In addition, PlayWell provides guidance on safety, privacy, and other issues of interest to responsible marketers and developers of social media platforms.

Adhering to regulatory, self-regulatory and industry regulations and guidelines is the first step in ensuring that your company is operating responsibly. However, your success also depends on creating a brand that consistently delivers on its mission and core values.

PlayWell partners with clients to develop customized guidelines and best practices that can be used to train, inform and guide your organization, vendors, licensees and other partners on parameters for product development, advertising, marketing and media projects. These materials are developed to be consistent with compliance requirements, as well as with your own brand sensibilities and values.

PlayWell also develops consumer and community guidelines to help your users understand the best way to interact with your product or program, from social networking sites to content solicitations.

Employees who are aligned with a company’s mission, values and guidelines are your strongest asset, as they are the drivers of your organization’s success. PlayWell creates the guidelines and designs and implements the systems and processes to provide the framework for decisions. PlayWell also provides the training and education for employees and develops the structure for developing and nurturing a culture of compliance in your organization.

PlayWell provides a variety of educational and training seminars to help clients understand key regulatory and self-regulatory concerns and industry guidelines. We offer full and half-day sessions covering any of our areas of expertise, customized to your specific business needs.

Understanding how to best manage a child’s digital and mobile privacy and safety can overwhelm even the most tech-savvy parents and educators. But education and parenting hasn't changes, technology has.

Services include:

Group workshops for parents and educators: Topics include parenting in the digital age, understanding privacy policies, learning how to manage privacy settings, basic safety tips, assessing technology, tools for getting children started safely on social media websites and development of school social media strategy.

Youth groups: This friendly workshop with children gets them engaged in a dialogue about their thoughts on privacy, password protection, safety and partnering with their parents and teachers on choosing apps and websites as well as good digital citizenship.

Family assessments: A questionnaire and family interviews cover everything from time spent on technology, sites and services accessed, privacy, safety and behavior practices. Customized recommendations, guidance and resources are provided to set the groundwork for good practices in the future.