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.
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.