FTC Settles Charges Against Kids' Apparel Brands for Alleged COPPA Violations
Remember Candie's shoes and Op shorts? The FTC announced yesterday that it has settled charges against Iconix Brand Group, the owner, licensor, and marketer of popular kids' apparel brands such as Candie’s, Op, Mudd, and Bongo, for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Among other things, Iconix will pay a $250,000 civil penalty. The FTC filed its complaint and submitted its consent decree and order for approval yesterday in the Southern District of New York.
The FTC charged Iconix with knowingly collecting personal information from approximately 1,000 children since 2006 without obtaining prior parental consent, and failing to delete the information. The FTC claimed that Iconix required consumers to provide personal information such as name, e-mail address, zip code, and in some cases mailing address, gender, phone number, and date of birth, in order to receive brand updates, enter sweepstakes contests, and participate in interactive brand-awareness campaigns and other Web site features. The FTC further charged Iconix with posting a privacy policy that falsely stated that it would not seek to collect personal information from children without obtaining prior parental consent and would delete any such information about which it became aware. Specifically, the privacy policy stated as follows (after the jump):
Continue Reading...Maine Privacy Law Applies Stringent Limits to Collection of Personal Information of Minors
A new Maine law gets serious about data collection and marketing to minors. The key portion of the law:
§ 9552. Unlawful collection and use of data from minors 1. Unlawful collection. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly collect or receive health-related information or personal information for marketing purposes from a minor without first obtaining verifiable parental consent of that minor's parent or legal guardian. 2. Unlawful use. A person may not sell, offer for sale or otherwise transfer to another person health-related information or personal information about a minor if that information: A. Was unlawfully collected pursuant to subsection 1; B. Individually identifies the minor; or C. Will be used in violation of section 9553. § 9553. Predatory marketing against minors prohibited A person may not use any health-related information or personal information regarding a minor for the purpose of marketing a product or service to that minor or promoting any course of action for the minor relating to a product. Use of information in violation of this section constitutes predatory marketing.
The law provides for a private right of action with possible recoveries up to $750 per violation in damages, as well as civil penalties:
3. Civil violation; penalty. Notwithstanding the penalty provisions of Title 5, section 209, each violation of this chapter constitutes a civil violation for which a fine may be assessed of: A. No less than $10,000 and no more than $20,000 for a first violation; and B. No less than $20,000 for a 2nd or subsequent violation
The law takes effect on September 12, 2009.
