The Scoop on PromotionsProject Support Team Blog

January 15th, 2009

Sony to Pay $1 Million to Settle COPPA Case

There’s a big price to pay if you do not comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”)……

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will pay $1 million to help settle Federal Trade Commission(”FTC”) charges that it violated COPPA by allegedly collecting, maintaining and disclosing personal information from thousands of children under the age of 13 without their parents’ consent.

This fine matches the largest penalty ever in a COPPA case, according to the FTC.

According to the FTC, Sony operates more than 1,000 Web sites for its musical artists and labels, requiring users to submit a broad range of personal information, together with date of birth, in order to register for these sites. On 196 of these sites, Sony knowingly collected personal information from at least 30,000 underage children without first obtaining their parents’ consent, in violation of COPPA, according to the FTC.

COPPA prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with the collection, use, or disclosure of personally identifiable information from and about children under 13 on the Internet. The law requires operators to notify parents and obtain their consent before collecting, using, or disclosing children’s personal information.

To my knowledge a sponsor may collect only two pieces of indentifying information from children under 13 (ie. first name and parent’s email address). For information on how to comply with COPPA visit http://www.coppa.org/comply.htm.

For more info visit: http://directmag.com/legal/sony-1212/