U.S. senators call for passing laws to protect online privacy for kids

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asks questions to witnesses as they testify before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights in a hearing to examine big data, focusing on implications for competition and consumers on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 21, 2021. Ken Cedeno/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic senators called Wednesday for two bills to be voted into law that will limit what children are shown online and how their data can be used for advertising by Big Tech companies like Google's YouTube and Facebook.

Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey, both Democrats, called for the passage of an update of the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which would, among other things, raise the age of children whose data cannot be collected without consent from 12 to 15.