New from Ketch: dynamic consent controls for age gating and video consent

Privacy laws in the U.S. are changing, and fast. Brands today face growing legal exposure not just from data collection generally—but from how consent is captured, how age is verified, and how video tracking is handled. Litigation threats from laws like VPPA (Video Privacy Protection Act) and CIPA (California Invasion of Privacy Act), plus state-level nuances like children’s privacy concerns, are placing new demands on what privacy compliance must actually deliver.

In 2024 and into 2025, VPPA cases continued to increase, especially around tracking pixels attached to video content. Courts are more willing to entertain claims that using third-party tools or pixels in connection with video content may violate VPPA. Meanwhile, under CIPA, there have been recent decisions in California finding that standard tracking tools—cookies, pixels—that were once thought to be outside the reach of old wiretapping laws may now trigger liability. Compliance by checkbox or a generic banner is no longer enough.

[For more reading on wiretapping: Wiretapping laws in the digital era – how to protect your brand]

At Ketch, we believe the next stage of compliance has to be about precision: about consent that adapts to age, content type, legal jurisdiction, and context in real time. That’s why we’re announcing new Dynamic Consent Controls within our Progressive Consent product, focused particularly on children’s privacy and video consent, to help brands manage risk, comply more robustly, and design experiences that respect both legal obligations and user expectations.

Why current approaches are deficient

Many organizations today rely on consent banners and broad age gates—or none at all. These approaches suffer from several gaps:

• They often don’t differentiate by age in a meaningful way; “over/under 18” is usually treated as sufficient, even though legal thresholds for minors vary by statute and jurisdiction.
  
  
• Video content tends to be treated the same as other content. But courts and regulators are increasingly asking: was there consent before video playback or tracking started? Were tracking pixels or third‑party tools firing without explicit video‑consent? Are disclosures adequate?
  
  
• Legal risk is rising. For example, under CIPA we’re seeing cases based on website analytics tools or pixels for tracking or fingerprinting. Some courts are interpreting “trap and trace” / “pen register” devices broadly to include processes, not just physical devices. There is uncertainty, but that uncertainty increases risk.
  
  
• Static solutions are hard to maintain. As jurisdictions change laws, what was compliant yesterday might be risky tomorrow. Re‑writing or re‑implementing code or consent flows for each law is expensive and error prone.

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Use Ketch Progressive Consent for new, privacy-specific use cases

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Age-gating: flexible, jurisdiction-aware experiences for minors

Ketch now enables dynamic age-gating experiences that adapt based on age, location, and legal requirements—making it easier for brands to meet the growing patchwork of children’s privacy laws across the U.S.

With these new controls, you can:

• Collect age in multiple ways: Choose from full date of birth, age bands (e.g., 13–17, 18+), or inferred signals where legally permissible. This flexibility helps brands determine whether a user qualifies as a minor for a specific jurisdiction.
  
  
• Apply dynamic opt-in/opt-out rules: Customize consent requirements based on the user’s age and location. For instance, if state law requires parental consent for users under 16, the system can automatically adjust the consent logic accordingly.
  
  
• Deliver tailored disclosures: Consent messaging and flows can vary by age group, ensuring that minors receive clearer, more visible privacy notices and appropriate user experiences.
  
  

With centralized rule control, updates can be made quickly as laws evolve—without the need for custom engineering every time new requirements emerge.

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Video consent: in-player control, contextual logic, and defensible logs

Video content is under increasing scrutiny from both regulators and litigators—especially when tracking technologies are involved. Ketch’s new video consent tools help brands meet these heightened expectations by introducing consent logic that’s specifically designed for video engagement.

Key capabilities include:

• In-player consent prompts: Consent can be collected directly in the video player, before playback begins or before any tracking occurs—aligning with VPPA compliance expectations.
  
  
• Context-sensitive activation: Consent logic is triggered only when legally required, based on factors like content type, user location, and platform. That means less friction for users, and more targeted enforcement for privacy teams.
  
  
• Comprehensive logging and audit trails: Every user interaction—consent decision, video play, opt-in or opt-out—is captured and recorded. These logs are tied directly to user actions, creating a clear and defensible record in the event of regulatory inquiry or legal challenge.

With these tools, brands can move beyond generic tracking consent and implement more precise, transparent experiences that reflect how video data is actually collected—and how it’s regulated.

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How this helps with litigation / enforcement risk

As enforcement and litigation rise, these capabilities matter in practice. Here are some specific ways the new features reduce risk:

• VPPA litigation often focuses on whether user consent was sufficiently clear and whether tracking (including via pixels) was happening before any video content was engaged, or without proper disclosure. Being able to require consent before playback or tracking gives brands a much stronger legal position.
  
  
• CIPA‑based claims are increasingly using old statutes about wiretapping or trap and trace devices in new ways, arguing that pixels or tracking tech connect to these statutes. The ability to adapt consent flows and stop tracking unless explicitly permitted helps mitigate exposure.
  
  
• When brands can show audit logs, clear consent flows, differentiated treatment of minors, and jurisdiction‑aware consent, they improve their odds of defending regulatory or legal scrutiny. The evidence matters.
  
  
• As state laws tighten (e.g. laws with children’s privacy protections beyond COPPA, or new age‑appropriate design codes), having centralized control over consent rules means you can deploy updates quickly, without needing engineering every time.
  
  

Modern privacy compliance is easier with Ketch

These dynamic consent controls are available now to all customers using Ketch Progressive Consent.

Want to learn more? Schedule time with our team. We can also assist with mapping risk areas, pilot testing new consent flows, or conducting readiness audits.

If you’re not yet using Progressive Consent, now is the time to consider it. Static, one‑size‑fits‑all cookie banners are increasingly failing to address what regulators, courts, and consumers expect.

We are entering a phase of privacy compliance that demands more than form. It demands context. Age, user behavior, content type, and jurisdiction all matter. Brands that build consent flows that adapt to those dimensions will be better positioned to avoid litigation, satisfy regulatory expectations, and build trust with users. With Ketch’s new Dynamic Consent Controls, you can move beyond generic consent to consent you can defend—and that respects the reality of children’s privacy and video rights today.

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