More Subjects
HIPAA and COPPA
Lakeidra Eady
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Author Note
Comparison, Similarities, and Differences
HIPAA and COPPA
Introduction
Cyber Security is gaining crucial importance in the present age. The last that anyone wants today is the leaking of their private information for everyone else's entertainment. To prevent such a catastrophe, the government has implemented several measures. In this paper, we will be comparing two such sets of measures: HIPAA and COPPA.
HIPPA and COPPA
The US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 for the protection of the sensitive medical information of the citizens CITATION Con96 \l 1033 (Congress, 1996). It covers the data that is protected to prevent misuse. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed in 1998 to restrict certain websites that can collect information about their children CITATION Cor92 \l 1033 (School, 1992). It ensures the transparency regarding the collection of sensitive information of children under the age of 13 and requires them to get the consent of their parents.
Disclosures and requirements
The recent boom in the smartphone sector has brought several new challenges for healthcare service providers. The case of HIPAA is not so troublesome as it covers only three types of businesses: Healthcare providers like doctors and pharmacies, health insurance plans, and healthcare clear housing. This does not make HIPAA much of a concern for the lawmakers, according to several lawmakers. The laws on COPPA are complicated and hard to comply with. For one, there are no certain barriers that can prevent children to lie that they are above the threshold age of 13, or for the website to ascertain that knowledge.
Even though the United States Government has no comprehensive set of laws for dealing with cyber incidents, certain amendments mostly overlap with each other when it comes to their implementation. In the case of HIPPA, the government requests that the client places minimum information on the respective webpages as possible. It also requires that the entities involved in the transactions should give disclosures to each other and third parties too if they are involved. The main penalty that this law enforces on the defendant is about 1.5 million dollars in case it is proven.
COPPA generally requires the websites to display appropriate information regarding the privacy of information. It also obliges the webpages to send the information for the consent of the parents before approving it. The detailed disclosures required for a child is his full name, address, online contact information, telephone number, social security number, photo of a child and geolocation information.
Differences and Similarities
There are certain differences when it comes to the implementation of these laws. For one, the schools can violate the tenants of HIPAA when it comes to medical cases directly coming from schools regarding children less than 13 years of age. COPPA cannot enjoy such liberties. Another difference is that the rules of COPPA, as the acronym suggests, are limited to children in under-teens. Also, all the international agencies operating in the US must comply with this law, whereas only the domains registered in the US have to comply with the standards of COPPA. Lastly, the tenants of HIPPA are limited to health-related records only.
However, there are a lot of similarities when it comes to their implementation. Both require a series of disclosure that are uniform throughout all fifty states. Lastly, the laws discussed are for the safety and security of the citizens of the US, especially against the rising tide of cyber threats.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Congress. (1996, August 21). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Retrieved from Government Information: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-104publ191/pdf/PLAW-104publ191.pdf
School, C. L. (1992). Legal Information Institute. Retrieved from 15 U.S. Code CHAPTER 91—CHILDREN’S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/chapter-91#
More Subjects
Join our mailing list
© All Rights Reserved 2024