(Internetnews.com)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) collected its largest fine to date for a privacy violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) when UMG Recordings agreed to pay $400,000 to settle civil charges brought by the watchdog agency. In a separate civil settlement, Bonzi Software, distributor of the BonziBuddy software, agreed to pay $75,000 in the first COPPA case to challenge the information collection practices of an online service in connection with a software product. Previous COPPA cases have addressed only Web site operators' information collection practices. The FTC alleged the two firms knowingly collecting personal information from children online without first obtaining parental consent. In addition to the fines, the settlements prohibit future COPPA violations, require that the companies delete any information collected in violation of COPPA, and contain certain record-keeping requirements to allow the FTC to monitor the companies' future compliance. 29 February 2004
QuickLinks Index
| Data Protection (privacy)