FTC fines Xanga for violating kids' privacy
7 Sept 2006
Summary
Things to think about when reading this article:$1 million penalty against social networking site is largest under 1998 law Xanga.com, a popular social networking site, was fined for allegedly allowing 1.7 million accounts to be created by children who indicated they were under 13 years of age.
This fine is the largest penalty every meted out for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which requires online services to get parental consent before collecting any personal information about consumers who are under the age of 13. "A million-dollar penalty should make that obligation crystal clear." " said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras.
Xanga claims the company has remedied the situation and beefed up its safeguards in an effort to prevent children under 13 from signing up with the service.
Xanga is not the only social networking site to change its policies and improve safety as the result of consumer complaints. MySpace also made changes when it came under heated news scrutiny that linked sexual predators to MySpace.
- If you have children under the age of 13, do you know your rights under the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)?
- Do you know what safety features are in place to protect you and your children? You should be able to find this easily and it should be written in simple terms you can understand. Read the article.
Filed under Protecting Kids
