[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
IP: ISPI Clips 5.38: TRUSTe is Creating a New Child Privacy Program
From: "ama-gi ISPI" <[email protected]>
Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.38: TRUSTe is Creating a New Child Privacy Program
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 00:12:32 -0700
To: <[email protected]>
ISPI Clips 5.38: TRUSTe is Creating a New Child Privacy Program
News & Info from the Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI)
Wednesday October 14, 1998
[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This From: CNET News.com, October 13, 1998
http://www.news.com
New Guidelines on Child Privacy
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,27489,00.html?dd.ne.tx.fs2.1013
By
Tim Clark and Courtney Macavinta
Staff Writers, CNET News.com
Industry group TRUSTe [ http://www.truste.org/ ] is creating a new child
privacy program that it hopes will address issues raised by the Federal
Trade Commission and the so-called Bryan bill now pending in Congress.
The FTC has reviewed TRUSTe's child privacy guidelines, which generally bar
Web sites from collecting personal information from children under 13
without verifiable parental permission. They also require child-oriented
Web sites to state clearly and prominently what information is being
collected and how it is shared.
"We want to help these sites catering to kids implement the bill," said
Susan Scott, TRUSTe executive director. "We have created a unique
children's seals, and to get that seal, sites need to comply with all the
FTC requirements to create and implement privacy statements."
Authored by Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nevada), the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act was tacked on to the Internet Tax Freedom Act. The provision
requires parental consent before Internet sites can collect information
online from children age 12 and under.
TRUSTe backs the Bryan bill but is concerned that is currently tied to
Internet censorship legislation.
One major children's site, Yahooligans plans to post TRUSTe's new child
privacy seal because it says its practices comply with TRUSTe's guidelines.
TRUSTe is talking to another major children's site, Disney about joining
the program too.
"Our privacy practices are in compliance with keeping a safe environment on
the Web," said Rob McHugh, senior producer for Yahooligans, which has
updated its privacy statement but not changed its practices to obtain the
children's privacy seal. Yahooligans collects first names, age, gender, and
home state, but no individually identifiable information, such email or
physical address.
"The practices are in effect right now for any new applicants [for TRUSTe's
logo] for sites directed at kids under 13," Scott said.
TRUSTe hopes its guidelines will become a "safe harbor" for child-oriented
sites. That means the FTC would accept a site's use of the TRUSTe child
privacy mark as evidence the site is following the law, with TRUSTe
essentially becoming an enforcement arm.
The FTC still must promulgate regulations on child privacy, and TRUSTe
expects to alter its guidelines based on the federal agency's final rules,
which may not be completed for a year. Scott expects no major changes.
The Bryan bill would be the first online privacy legislation to pass,
giving the FTC authority it previously felt it didn't have to enforce
privacy rules.
Scott predicts that requiring parental permission before collecting
personal data on children will reduce the amount of information sites
request.
"The cost of business has gone up because of the verification [that parents
approve]," she said. "Sites will need to look at their business models to
see if they need that personal information."
Scott praised Bryan for taking industry concerns into account by altering
the initial legislation, for example, to apply specifically to commercial
sites--not nonprofits--and by limiting the parental permission requirement
to children 12 years and under, not ages 13 to 19.
The Net Tax Freedom Act is still in limbo today as Congress's session comes
down to the wire. The Senate passed the three-year moratorium on new Net
taxes, but if the House doesn't push it through as is then Congress will
likely run out of time to pass the legislation.
There is speculation, however, that the tax moratorium will be attached to
omnibus spending legislation that could be passed by midnight tomorrow
before both houses adjourn. If the bill is passed, the child privacy
protections also will be ushered into law.
But the Net tax bill also contains a controversial provision by Sen. Dan
Coats (R-Indiana) that exempts commercial sites from the tax break if they
give minors unfettered access to "harmful" material.
Specifically, TRUSTe's Children's Seal Program requires that licensees not:
*Collect information from a child under 13 without parental consent or
direct parental notification of the nature and intended use of the data.
Parents should be able to prevent use of the information.
*Collect personally identifiable offline contact information from children
under 13 without parental consent.
*Distribute to third parties any personal data collected from a child under
13 without parental consent.
*Allow children under 13 to publicly post or otherwise distribute personal
information without parental consent. Sites must try to prohibit children
from posting any contact information.
*Use a games or prizes to entice a child under 13 to divulge more
information than is needed.
Copyright � 1995-98 CNET, Inc.
--------------------------------NOTICE:------------------------------
ISPI Clips are news & opinion articles on privacy issues from
all points of view; they are clipped from local, national and international
newspapers, journals and magazines, etc. Inclusion as an ISPI Clip
does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of the content or opinion
by ISPI. In compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed free without profit or payment for non-profit research
and educational purposes only.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISPI Clips is a FREE e-mail service from the "Institute for the Study
of Privacy Issues" (ISPI). To receive "ISPI Clips" on a regular bases
(up to 3 - 8 clips per day) send the following message "Please
enter [Your Name] into the ISPI Clips list: [Your e-mail address]" to:
[email protected] .
The Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI) is a small
contributor-funded organization based in Victoria, British Columbia
(Canada). ISPI operates on a not-for-profit basis, accepts no
government funding and takes a global perspective.
ISPI's mandate is to conduct & promote interdisciplinary research
into electronic, personal and financial privacy with a view toward
helping ordinary people understand the degree of privacy they have
with respect to government, industry and each other and to likewise
inform them about techniques to enhance their privacy.
But, none of this can be accomplished without your kind and
generous financial support. If you value in the ISPI Clips service or if
you are concerned about the erosion of your privacy in general, won't
you please help us continue this important work by becoming an "ISPI
Clips Supporter" or by taking out an institute Membership?
We gratefully accept all contributions:
Less than $60 ISPI Clips Supporter
$60 - $99 Primary ISPI Membership (1 year)
$100 - $300 Senior ISPI Membership (2 years)
More than $300 Executive Council Membership (life)
Your ISPI "membership" contribution entitles you to receive "The ISPI
Privacy Reporter" (our bi-monthly 12 page hard-copy newsletter in
multi-contributor format) for the duration of your membership.
For a contribution form with postal instructions please send the following
message "ISPI Contribution Form" to [email protected] .
We maintain a strict privacy policy. Any information you divulge to ISPI
is kept in strict confidence. It will not be sold, lent or given away to
any third party.
**********************************************
To subscribe or unsubscribe, email:
[email protected]
with the message:
(un)subscribe ignition-point email@address
**********************************************
www.telepath.com/believer
**********************************************