From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998 04:43:24 +0800
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Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.38: TRUSTe is Creating a New Child Privacy Program
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From: "ama-gi ISPI" <offshore@email.msn.com>
Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.38: TRUSTe is Creating a New Child Privacy Program
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 00:12:32 -0700
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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
ISPI4Privacy@ama-gi.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 (c) 1995-98 CNET, Inc.


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