Washington Lawmakers Spotlight Online Safety and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) at Recent US House of Representatives Hearing; Rego Payment Architectures is Leading the Charge

BLUE BELL, Pa., Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Last week, the US House of Representatives held a hearing on Holding Big Tech Accountable, spotlighting the need to keep children and their information safe while they are online. Tech policy expert and Rego Board of Advisors Member Rick Lane testified on the risks kids face online today and ways Congress can step up to protect them.

Building a safer and more secure Internet for children will require Congress to focus on a variety of interlocking issues, including online privacy protections and broader liability and safety standards – particularly in the context of digital payment systems and apps. Lane focused on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which makes it unlawful for a "website or online service" to collect personal information from a child under thirteen—whether for the service's own use or to sell to others—without first obtaining parental consent.

Currently there are dozens of financial apps on the market for kids and teens. However, only the Rego Payment Architectures "REGO" digital wallet platform, Mazoola, is independently COPPA certified and ensures a child's identity is kept private.  Due to a legal loophole, other financial apps for children currently allow the collection of a great deal of their personal information without parental consent. Many fall into a dangerous FinTech Child Privacy Protection Gap where kids as young as 13 are treated as adults and have their data harvested, profiled, and targeted. According to a recent VICE article, it's incredibly hard for a parent to control the sensitive information being shared about their children online, including their names, birthdates, email addresses, GPS location history, and now financial transactions. And when this data is hacked or breached, it can set in motion a lifetime of identity theft and devastating financial consequences.

During the US House of Representatives hearing, Mr. Lane urged Congressional leaders to hold big tech accountable and enact legislation to build a safer Internet. He shared that "digital wallets are growing in popularity at a remarkable pace. Children today are engaging in financial transactions with digital wallets, both online and in stores more than ever before." He went on to say that "to combat the potential harm to our children through online data collection, REGO has incorporated COPPA privacy by design into its Mazoola financial application and pay button, producing the only COPPA certified digital payment app on the market. Policymakers at all levels are starting to work on this problem, but progress has been slow."

It's incredibly important for kids get an early start on learning and preparing for future financial success, but in a safe way. Mazoola is currently the only digital banking solution that puts privacy first and helps teach kids essential financial management skills. The app only collects from parents the bare minimum identifying information needed for banking, and no personally identifying information at all for its child users. It doesn't even know your child's name, as parents can assign nicknames for kid's accounts. Mazoola will also never share or sell the limited information it does have. This commitment should be the gold standard for protecting kids' privacy online.

Find out more about Mazoola at mazoola.co. Follow the conversation on Instagram and Facebook (@Mazoolawallet).

About REGO Payment Architectures, Inc. 

REGO is a digital solution that enables children to stay safe in today's tech-first environment. The REGO Digital Wallet platform, Mazoola℠, allows parents and guardians to enable online shopping or digital spending at approved retailers, control what funds are available for which purchases, and reward children or pay allowance via the app. REGO is an innovative financial platform uniquely positioned due to its Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. Visit us at regopayments.com.

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SOURCE REGO Payment Architectures, Inc. (“REGO”)