New York Fines Viacom, Mattel and Hasbro For Tracking Kids Online (usatoday.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from USA Today: Companies that operate popular kids websites like nickjr.com and barbie.com agreed to a $835,000 settlement and to change their practices after an investigation found the sites were enabled with technology that tracked kids' internet activities. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his office reached settlements with Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro and JumpStart Games after an investigation into the companies found violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The investigation, called "Operation Child Tracker," found that websites operated by the companies enabled third-party vendors, such as marketing and advertising companies, to track children's online activity -- which violated federal law. Federal law prohibits the unauthorized collection of children's personal information on websites aimed at children under age 13. Viacom will pay $500,000; Mattel will pay $250,000; and JumpStart will pay $85,000. [Hasbro will not pay a penalty because it is part of a "safe harbor program" through the Federal Trade Commission that already requires more disclosures of web activity, Schneiderman said.]

Comments

Tracking Anyone Should Be Illegal

[zenlessyank]

It is called stalking. Just because you do it via the internet doesn't mean jack.

really hitting them where it hurts

[z0idberg]

Viacomm 2015 gross earnings $6.18 billion.
$500,000 fine.

Mattel 2015 gross earnings $2.8 billion.
$250,000 fine.

For an individual earning $100,000 gross income that equates to roughly to $8 and $9 fines respectively*. That will really teach them to think twice about breaking federal law by enabling tracking of children through their sites. What a joke.

* that's assuming the individual is taxed at the same rate as the corporations. Which they aren't. So the relative amount is even lower.