FTC settles with website violating COPPA

The Federal Trade Commission recently settled a case with www.skidekids.com, a website promoted as a "Facebook and Myspace for kids," after the website illegally collected information from thousands of children in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 6501. Skid-e-kids targets children ages 7-14 and seeks to create a Facebook-type environment that is child-friendly.

The settlement requires the company to destroy all data collected in violation of COPPA and pay a fine of $100,000 (with all but $1,000 suspended under the terms of the settlement), among other agreements.

COPPA forbids websites from collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent of a parent. Websites have struggled to comply with the law as children often falsify information on websites that do not allow users under that age (such as Facebook). Skid-e-kids now requires parents to register first using their Facebook account which will then let them register their children on the site and monitor their child's activity.

RELATED NEWS: The FTC recently proposed rule changes for COPPA and is seeking comments through the end of the month.