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Jenna Zhang

Jenna Zhang advises clients across industries on data privacy, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. 

Jenna partners with clients to ensure their compliance with the rapidly evolving federal and state privacy and cybersecurity laws. She supports clients in designing new products and services, drafting privacy notices and terms of use, responding to cyber and data security incidents, and evaluating privacy and cybersecurity risks in corporate transactions. In particular, she advises clients on substantive requirements relating to children’s and student privacy, including COPPA, FERPA, age-appropriate design code laws, and social media laws.

As part of her practice, Jenna regularly represents clients in data privacy investigations and enforcement actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general. She also supports clients in proactive engagement with regulators and policymakers to ensure their perspectives are heard.

Jenna also maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on supporting families in adoptions, guardianships, and immigration matters.

On May 19, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) adopted, on a unanimous basis, a policy statement reminding educational technology vendors (“ed tech vendors”) of their duty to comply with the substantive privacy protections of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) and the Commission-issued COPPA Rule.  The policy statement reiterates the requirements of the Rule and previous informal guidance from Commission staff, and makes clear that ed tech vendors may not submit children to commercial surveillance and data monetization practices when using technology in the classroom.

The FTC’s COPPA Rule, which became effective in 2000 and was most recently amended in 2013, is intended to place parents in control over the information collected from their children online.  A major component of the Rule is that commercial online operators must (1) provide parents with notice of data collection and (2) obtain parental consent before the collection of personal information of children under age 13.

Recognizing the unique benefits of ed tech, the new policy statement reminds ed tech vendors that their compliance with the Rule extends beyond the notice and consent requirement.  Specifically, the FTC intends to scrutinize the activities of ed tech vendors in the following areas:

Continue Reading FTC Unanimously Adopts Policy Statement on Education Technology and COPPA