Biggest companies to stop illegal online tracking of children
Staff Writer |
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that his office has reached settlements with Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro, and JumpStart Games resolving investigations into the companies’ violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
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“Operation Child Tracker,†a two-year, first-of-its-kind investigation by the Attorney General’s office, discovered that websites operated by these companies were home to tracking technology that illegally enabled third-party vendors, such as marketers or advertising companies, to track children’s online activity in violation of COPPA.
The companies – whose online properties include some of the most popular children’s websites, including websites associated with Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon (Viacom); Barbie, Hot Wheels, and American Girl (Mattel); Neopets (JumpStart); and My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, and Nerf (Hasbro) – agreed to pay a combined $835,000 in penalties and implement significant reforms.
COPPA prohibits the unauthorized collection of children’s personal information on websites directed to children under the age of 13, including the collection of information used to track a child’s movements across the web.
Each of the settling companies allowed third party tracking technologies on their websites in violation of COPPA.
Each of the settling parties has agreed to comprehensive reforms to protect children from improper tracking in the future.
These include regular electronic scans to monitor for third party tracking technologies, adopting procedures for vetting third parties’ data collection practices to ensure that they comply with COPPA, and providing notice to third parties when they are operating through a website covered by COPPA.
Three of the companies - Viacom, Mattel, and JumpStart - will also provide regular reports to the office regarding the results of their scans and pay penalties totaling $835,000.
Viacom will pay $500,000; Mattel will pay $250,000; JumpStart will pay $85,000. Hasbro participated in an FTC-approved “safe harbor†program and will not pay a penalty.
Each of the settling companies cooperated in “Operation Child Tracker†and took remedial measures after being contacted by the Attorney General. ■