AOL KIDS ADVERTISING & PROGRAMMING POLICIES

AOL KIDS ADVERTISING & PROGRAMMING POLICIES TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction Objective/Scope Procedures Pre-Approval Non-Compliance I. Advertising/Sponsorship Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities Guidelines Contests/Sweepstakes II. Commerce III. Programmed Content Guidelines Entertainment Music Movies TV programs Games Children’s Work Newsletters Research IV. Community/Interactivity Chat Rooms Message Boards V. Privacy COPPA Triggers for COPPA Beyond COPPA- Privacy Policy Appendix A: COPPA Compliant Sweepstakes Appendix B: AOL Kids Radio Guidelines Appendix C: FTC Summary of COPPA

I. INTRODUCTION Objective Provide a safe and engaging environment for kids, addressing primary industry and consumer concerns by: • providing age-appropriate content; • protecting youth privacy and safety; • abiding by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”); • creating an age-appropriate marketing environment as outlined by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (“CARU”); • creating a viable programming and business model for kid areas on AOL. Scope AOL, Partner, Advertiser, or Sponsorship areas directed to kids must comply with these Policies whether or not the content, interactivity, or advertising resides in AOL Kids or Secret Millionaires Club Kids. Pre-Approval The appropriate policy team must pre-approve all advertising, sponsorships, contests/sweepstakes, and content scheduled to run in AOL Kids, Secret Millionaires Club or areas of the AOL Service that are directed to kids. A 72 hour advanced notice for review is requested. Policy Contacts: Advertising: Robin London Ad Policy Team Email Address: [email protected]

Programming: Diana Pentecost Consumer Policy and Child Safety Team Email Address: [email protected]

Information to be Submitted for Ad/Sponsorship Approval: • Web Site Link (must be a live URL, not a test site) • Dates of Carriage • Inventory Carriage (e.g., where is ad to run- AOL Kids, Secret Millionaires Club) • Creatives • Ad Ops, Sales, or IM Contact Information to be Submitted for Programming Approval: • Mock of feature or promotion • Dates of Carriage • Inventory Carriage (e.g., where will it be running on the AOL service—AOL Kids, Parenting, Welcome Screen) • Channel, Sales or IM Contact Non-Compliance: AOL will notify a Partner or Advertiser found to be in non-compliance with the Policies. Partners and Advertisers are responsible for taking necessary steps for compliance. Failure to comply with these Policies may result in termination of the Partner’s or the Advertiser’s agreement with AOL, pursuant to the terms of that agreement.

II. ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIPS Because children 12 and under have difficulty distinguishing between advertising and content, advertisements must be clearly differentiated from editorial content. Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities Opportunities exist within the following advertising/sponsorship categories: • • • • • •

Music Movies (rated “G” and “PG”) Games (rated “EC” and “E”) Food and Beverages Children’s Products (toys, games, books) Apparel and Accessories

Guidelines:

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All advertising must be clearly labeled as advertising/sponsorships including areas where the personality or product is featured in editorial content (e.g., characterdriven Web sites) and within an interactive environment or area where content/advertising distinctions blur. - To clearly label an ad as advertising, the border must include either (a) the word “Advertisement,” (b) the word “Ad,” (c) the words “Paid Ad.” Sponsorship areas should be clearly identified with words such as “Brought To You By” or “Sponsored By” on all sponsored screens. For example, if an advertiser sponsors a chat or message board area, the name of the sponsoring company and/or brand should be prominently featured in the sponsored chat or message areas.

Contests/Sweepstakes •

Partners must obtain approval from AOL Legal and AOL Consumer Policy & Child Safety prior to conducting or promoting any contest, sweepstakes or similar promotion (including the rules and entry process). Allow 72 hours for review and approval.

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All contests/sweepstakes promoted in AOL Kids must be open to children 6-12 years old.

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Partners must clearly post and explain rules on the contest entry form.

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Information collection must comply with COPPA.

Example of COPPA Compliant Contest:

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Entry form with prominent link to Official Rules and Privacy Policy. Request for first name only and neutral date of birth field.

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Input of age 12 or under generates request for Parent’s/Guardian’s e-mail address.

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12 or under entrant informed that parent/guardian will be contacted for permission.

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*See Appendix A for another example of COPPA Compliant Sweepstakes for Kids.

E-mail informing parent about contest/sweepstakes with opt-in and opt-out. (Notice and Choice)

III. COMMERCE Online transactions/stores in child-directed areas are allowed, subject to the following criteria:

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There must be an interstitial screen between AOL Kids and the online store/transaction area informing children in language understandable to a child that they (a) are about to enter an online store, and (b) must be at least 18 years old to purchase anything in the store. Online stores must be clearly labeled. All transactions must be centralized in one location on the site rather than interweaving them throughout the site. Products directly offered for sale must be appropriate for children 12 and under (e.g., toys, games, books). Must point directly to kids merchandise if large store that contains products for all ages. Messaging in the transaction area must be directed to the parent/adult, not to the child. AOL must pre-approve any online store or transaction area that Partners and Advertisers would like to incorporate into their sites.

Example: Interstitial Page:

IV. PROGRAMMED CONTENT All content promoted to kids (6-12 years old) on the AOL Service and from AOL Kids must be created specifically for children between the ages of 6-12 years old and must adhere to AOL’s guidelines of age-appropriate (e.g., animated, fantasy, or cartoon-like characters, subject matter relating to school or educational material). And may not contain: •

Violence,

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Strong language

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Sexual dialogue or situations, and

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Direct promotion to social networking sites or sites not appropriate for this age group.

Guidelines: A. Online Linking

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Children’s Partners and Advertisers/Sponsors may link only to Web sites that are accessible to Kids Only screen names.1 AOL Kids can link to AIM so long as a verifiable parental consent mechanism is in place and the direct promotion is of content on AIM that is appropriate for kids as young as 6 years old. AOL Kids must approve all keywords for areas promoted from AOL Kids Partners should contact their AOL Account Manager regarding this process.

B. Entertainment Music •

AOL Kids will not play songs/albums that are edited/clean versions of songs that contain explicit lyrics. - Consumer Policy & Child Safety will review any songs that may be considered an exception to this rule.

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AOL Kids will not play songs/albums that contain Parental Advisories or those that a reasonable consumer would argue should carry the Parental Advisory label.

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AOL Kids will not play theme songs/albums from R rated or NC-17 rated movies.

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Radio products, such as Radio@AOL can be promoted from AOL Kids so long as it points to stations that are appropriate for younger users.

To check if a site is accessible to a Kids Only screen name follow these steps: 1. Create a screen name at Keyword: Names and designate it Kids Only when prompted to select a Parental Controls age category. 2. Sign on to AOL with your new KO screen name and attempt to access the desired Web site. 3. If the Web site is restricted, send to Diana Pentecost ([email protected])

Movies •

All movies advertised/promoted to children must be rated PG or G. No advertising/promotion of PG -13, R-rated or NC-17 movies is acceptable in AOL Kids.

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Movies rated PG-13 may be referenced in AOL Kids if the omission of that movie would make the programming less relevant to the kids audience. In this circumstance, programming around this movie (a kid “idol” or “star,” popular soundtrack, fashion trends) would be acceptable if: there is no link to the movie’s Web site; there is no link to buy tickets for the movie; and no link to the movie trailer. - Consumer Policy & Child Safety will review any movies that may be considered an exception to this rule. (E.g., Programming around Daniel Radcliff in Harry Potter movies that are rated PG-13 would be acceptable.)

TV Programs •

All TV programs advertised/promoted to children must be rated TVY, TVY7, TVY7fv, TVG, and TVPG and be appropriate in theme for kids as young as 6 years old. No advertising/promotion of TV14, TVMA TV programs is acceptable in AOL Kids. - Consumer Policy & Child Safety will review any TV programs that may be considered an exception to this rule.

Games •

Games directed at or residing in areas directed to children 6-12 must maintain an ESRB Early Childhood (“EC”) or Everyone (“E”) rating.

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Everyone 10 and older (“E10+”) rated games may be promoted in AOL Kids but not from high level areas and must be linked from an area with language indicating that the games are for older kids (i.e., “And for our older kids” and link to the game).

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E10+ games cannot be advertised in AOL Kids.

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All game sites or links must be ESRB rated and must prominently display that rating. Partners must contact the ESRB directly at 212-759-0700 to have their games rated. For more information on the ESRB visit http://www.esrb.org/.

AIM •

AOL Kids will not directly promote or link to AIM. At the time of this policy, AIM is only open to users 13 and above.

Examples: Acceptable (indirect promotion of AIM on AOL Kids)

C. Children’s Work Kids have copyright in art and stories. Partners soliciting children’s work online (e.g., artwork, stories, other writing) must:

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Provide Notice for Online Use: Partners must provide Notice that explicitly states at the point of collection if the child's submission may be published online. Parental Consent for Offline Use: Partners must obtain prior verifiable parental consent before a child’s submitted work is used or published offline (e.g., a book, magazine reprint) or in any other medium, and for any online uses not previously disclosed at the point of collection.

D. Newsletters • • •

Online newsletters must include information in the text about how a child or parent may “unsubscribe” via e-mail. Online newsletters distributed via list-serve must be set up so subscribers cannot individually identify other subscribers to the list-serve. Online newsletters are subject to AOL’s bulk e-mail policy. Partners should contact their AOL Account Manager for details.

E. Research

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AOL must authorize all online research. This includes online interviews with kids, online research surveys, and/or recruiting kids online to use in offline studies. Partners should direct all research requests to their AOL Account Manager or to Francis Duncan ([email protected]). Consumer Policy & Child Safety and AOL Kids management will review this request. AOL can provide a contact at Digital Marketing Solutions (DMS), a company with established online research practices. If a Partner becomes aware of a third party conducting research online in chat, e-mail or message boards, Partners should notify their AOL Account Manager.

V. COMMUNITY/INTERACTIVITY Chat At the time this policy was revised, there are no chat rooms available to AOL Kids or Secret Millionaires Club. This policy would stand should there be chat again in the future. • Partners must ensure that there is a Chat Host present during all chat room hours. AOL reserves the right to close or de-link any chat room that is found unmonitored. • Chat Hosts must act as a resource for children and a “watchdog” for suspicious behavior. • Chat Hosts must be at least 18 years old and an employee of the company/partner. • Personal Information: While hosting chat rooms, Chat Hosts should remind children not to reveal personal information, including their full names in chat rooms or other public online areas. • Partners should also inform children how to recognize Chat Host screen names. Message Boards • All Partners are required to monitor their message boards at a minimum daily. Monitoring includes (a) answering questions (b) deleting posts that violate the Kids Message Board Guidelines, and (c) deleting posts with personal information. Monitors must be at least 18 years old and an employee of the company/partner. • Personal Information: Partners must remove any personal information (not including screen names) posted by children in Partner’s message boards. This includes removing posts that reveal the child’s full name. Partners should prominently post safety messages in message boards and other public areas to educate children not to reveal personal information online. • Screen Names: Partners may not collect or distribute screen names of message board participants for any reason except to report an online violation or problem. • Adult Participation: Partner should discourage adult participation (except for message board monitors) in message boards, unless the board is purposely set up for such exchange. • Posts of a Sensitive Nature: Monitors should respond promptly to posts or inquiries of a sensitive nature (e.g., suicide threats, child endangerment). Training on how to respond properly will be provided by Consumer Policy & Child Safety. Social Networking • It is acceptable to directly or indirectly promote social networking sites that allow children aged 12 and younger to participate provided the sites are COPPA and CARU compliant and generally follow the policies outlined here. •

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It is acceptable to reference social networking sites in programming, but it is not acceptable to link to them. o

Acceptable example: Miley Cyrus just posted on Facebook that she has a new boyfriend.

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Unacceptable Example: You can be friends w/ Miley Cyrus on Facebook (linking to Facebook)

AOL Kids may have a social networking presence throughout the web, but may not promote those profiles on the AOL Kids site. o

Unacceptable: Follow us on Twitter

VI. PRIVACY COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) AOL is committed to safeguarding children’s privacy online and complying with COPPA and we require our Partners to do the same. As such, Partners must obtain the appropriate level of parental consent as required by COPPA before any collection, use and/or disclosure of “personal information” (including e-mail addresses) from children ages 12 and under. *Note: “Collection” includes enabling a child to make personal information publicly available through a chat room, message board, homepage or other online means.

Beyond COPPA- Privacy Policy •

Children’s Partners, Advertisers and Sponsors must post a Privacy Policy on their homepage regardless of whether or not the Partner, Advertiser, or Sponsor collects personal information.

Appendix A: COPPA Compliant Sweepstakes for Kids

Enter Age

Thank You (Obtaining Parental Consent)

E-mail to Parent

Notice and Opt-Out for Parent

Appendix B: AOL Kids Radio Guidelines

Live Radio Show Guidelines These guidelines are included, should a radio show return to AOL Kids in the future 1. Play List •

All songs played on the live Radio Show must be pre-screened before going on the air or have already been approved for Radio@AOL’s Kids Only station.

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AOL will not play songs/albums that are edited/clean versions of songs that contain explicit lyrics. - Consumer Policy and Child Safety will review any songs that may be considered an exception to this rule.

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AOL will not play songs/albums that contain Parental Advisories or those that a reasonable consumer would argue should carry the Parental Advisory label.

2. Promotion •

No references to R or NC-17 rated movies are acceptable from the Radio Show.

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Passing references to PG-13 rated movies are acceptable from the Radio Show so long as they cannot be construed as promotional.

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All movies promoted from the Radio Show must be rated PG or G.

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Songs/Albums from an R or NC-17 rated movie are not acceptable from Radio Show.

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Songs/Albums from a PG-13 rated movie are acceptable from Radio Show without specific promotion of the movie.

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Guests of the Radio Show cannot promote PG-13, R or NC-17 rated movies or songs/albums that contain explicit lyrics.

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All games referenced from the Radio Show must maintain an ESRB Early Childhood (“EC”) or Everyone (“E”) rating.

3. Advertisements/Sponsorships •

All advertisements must be clearly identified as advertisements and differentiated from editorial content.

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All sponsorships must be clearly identified with words such as “Brought To You By” or “Sponsored By”.

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Consumer Policy & Child Safety must review all copy for advertisements and sponsorships before running on the Radio Show.

4. Personal Information Collection On Air •

DJ should remind children not to reveal personal information, including their full names and screen names on the Radio Show.

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ONLY first name and state or truncated screen name can be used to identify kids on the Radio Show.

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The Radio Show must have the ability to delete any references to personal information or inappropriate language before going live (i.e., use of a delay button).

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DJ should not provide his/her personal information while on the air except information necessary to communicate with AOL Kids members.

Communicating via E-mail, IM and Telephone

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AOL is committed to safeguarding children’s privacy online and complying with COPPA. As such, AOL Kids Radio must obtain “verifiable parental consent” as required by COPPA before any collection, use and/or disclosure of “personal information” from children ages 12 and under.

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DJ may correspond with AOL Kids members via e-mail, IM and telephone but may not collect personal information via these methods of communication.

5. Sweepstakes/Contests/Giveaways

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AOL Legal (Cherie Carlton, SN: Cherie Carlton) and Consumer Policy & Child Safety must approve all sweepstakes, contests and giveaways before running on the Radio Show.

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Telephone numbers may be collected via e-mail, instant message and telephone to inform AOL Kids members when they are instant winners.

6. Sensitive Issues (suicide threats, abuse allegations received by AOL Kids)

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Procedure implemented by AOL Legal, Chris Bubb (SN: CGBubb).

7. Language • •

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Caller’s comments cannot contain any obscenities (fuck, shit, ass, sucks, etc.) Caller’s comments cannot contain references to sex or sexual innuendo. AOL Kids Radio must have the ability to delete any references to inappropriate language before going live (i.e., use of a delay button).

Appendix C: FTC’s Summary of COPPA

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act becomes effective April 21, 2000. The regulations apply to the online collection of personal information from children under 13. They spell out what a Web site operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online. The Federal Trade Commission staff prepared this guide to help you comply with the new requirements for protecting children's privacy online and understand the FTC's enforcement authority.

Who Must Comply If you operate a commercial Web site or an online service directed to children under 13 that collects personal information from children or if you operate a general audience Web site and have actual knowledge that it collects personal information from children, you must comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

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To determine whether a Web site is directed to children, the FTC will consider several factors, including the subject matter; visual or audio content; the age of models on the site; language; whether advertising on the Web site is directed to children; information regarding the age of the actual or intended audience; and whether a site uses animated characters or other child-oriented features.

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To determine whether an entity is an "operator" with respect to information collected at a site, the FTC will consider who owns and controls the information; who pays for the collection and maintenance of the information; what the pre-existing contractual relationships are in connection with the information; and what role the Web site plays in collecting or maintaining the information.

Personal Information The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and Rule apply to individually identifiable information about a child that is collected online, such as full name, home address, email address, telephone number or any other information that would allow someone to identify or contact the child. The Act and Rule also cover other types of information - for example, hobbies, interests and information collected through cookies or other types of tracking mechanisms - when they are tied to individually identifiable information.

Basic Provisions Privacy Notice Placement An operator must post a link to a notice of its information practices on the home page of its Web site or online service and at each area where it collects personal information from children. An operator of a general audience site with a separate children's area must post a link to its notice on the home page of the children's area.

The link to the privacy notice must be clear and prominent. Operators may want to use a larger font size or a different color type on a contrasting background to make it so. A link in small print at the bottom of the page -- or a link that is indistinguishable from other links on your site -is not considered clear and prominent. Content The notice must be clearly written and understandable; it should not include any unrelated or confusing materials. It must state the following information:

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The name and contact information (address, telephone number and email address) of all operators collecting or maintaining children's personal information through the Web site or online service. If more than one operator is collecting information at the site, the site may select and provide contact information for only one operator who will respond to all inquiries from parents about the site's privacy. Still, the names of all the operators must be listed in the notice.

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The kinds of personal information collected from children (for example, name, address, email address, hobbies, etc.) and how the information is collected - directly from the child or passively, say, through cookies.

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How the operator uses the personal information. For example, is it for marketing back to the child? Notifying contest winners? Allowing the child to make the information publicly available through a chat room?

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Whether the operator discloses information collected from children to third parties. If so, the operator also must disclose the kinds of businesses in which the third parties are engaged; the general purposes for which the information is used; whether the third parties have agreed to maintain the confidentiality and security of the information; and that the parent has the option to agree to the collection and use of the child's information without consenting to the disclosure of the information to third parties.

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That the operator may not require a child to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in an activity as a condition of participation.

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That the parent can review the child's personal information, ask to have it deleted and refuse to allow any further collection or use of the child's information. The notice also must state the procedures for the parent to follow.

Direct Notice to Parents Content The notice to parents must contain the same information included on the notice on the Web site. In addition, an operator must notify a parent that it wishes to collect personal information from the child; that the parent's consent is required for the collection, use and disclosure of the information; and how the parent can provide consent. The notice to parents must be written clearly and understandably, and must not contain any unrelated or confusing information. An operator may use any one of a number of methods to notify a parent, including sending an email message to the parent or a notice by postal mail.

Verifiable Parental Consent Before collecting, using or disclosing personal information from a child, an operator must obtain verifiable parental consent from the child's parent. Until April 2002, the FTC will use a sliding

scale approach to parental consent in which the required method of consent will vary based on how the operator uses the child's personal information. That is, if the operator uses the information for internal purposes, a less rigorous method of consent is required. If the operator discloses the information to others, the situation presents greater dangers to children, and a more reliable method of consent is required. The sliding scale approach will sunset in April 2002 subject to a Commission review planned for October 2001. Internal Uses Operators may use email to get parental consent for all internal uses of personal information, such as marketing back to a child based on his or her preferences or communicating promotional updates about site content, as long as they take additional steps to increase the likelihood that the parent has, in fact, provided the consent. For example, operators might seek confirmation from a parent in a follow up email, or confirm the parent's consent by letter or phone call. Public Disclosures When operators want to disclose a child's personal information to third parties or make it publicly available (for example, through a chat room or message board), the sliding scale requires them to use a more reliable method of consent, including: •

getting a signed form from the parent via postal mail or facsimile;

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accepting and verifying a credit card number;

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taking calls from parents, through a toll-free telephone number staffed by trained personnel;

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email accompanied by digital signature;

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e-mail accompanied by a PIN or password obtained through one of the verification methods above.

But in the case of a monitored chat room, if all individually identifiable information is stripped from postings before it is made public - and the information is deleted from the operator's records - an operator does not have to get prior parental consent. Disclosures to Third Parties. An operator must give a parent the option to agree to the collection and use of the child's personal information without agreeing to the disclosure of the information to third parties. That is, a parent can grant consent to allow his/her child to participate in activities on the site without consenting to the disclosure of the child's information to third parties. Exceptions The regulations include several exceptions that allow operators to collect a child's email address without getting the parent's consent in advance. These exceptions cover many popular online activities for kids, including contests, online newsletters, homework help and electronic postcards. Prior parental consent is not required when: •

an operator collects a child's or parent's email address to provide notice and seek consent;

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an operator collects an email address to respond to a one-time request from a child and then deletes it;

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an operator collects an email address to respond more than once to a specific request - say, for a subscription to a newsletter. In this case, the operator must notify the parent that it is communicating regularly with the child and give the parent the opportunity to stop the communication before sending or delivering a second communication to a child;

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an operator collects a child's name or online contact information to protect the safety of a child who is participating on the site. In this case, the operator must notify the parent and give him or her the opportunity to prevent further use of the information;

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an operator collects a child's name or online contact information to protect the security or liability of the site or to respond to law enforcement, if necessary, and does not use it for any other purpose.

October 2001/April 2002 Come October 2001, the Commission will seek comment from interested parties to determine whether technology has progressed as expected and whether secure electronic methods are widely available and affordable. Subject to the Commission's review, the sliding scale will expire in April 2002. Until then, operators are encouraged to use the more reliable methods of consent for all uses of children's personal information.

New Notice for Consent An operator is required to send a new notice and request for consent to parents if there are material changes in the collection, use or disclosure practices to which the parent had previously agreed. Take the case of the operator who got parental consent for a child to participate in contests that require the child to submit limited personal information, but who now wants to offer the child chat rooms. Or, consider the case of the operator who wants to disclose the child's information to third parties who are in materially different lines of business from those covered by the original consent - for example, marketers of diet pills rather than marketers of stuffed animals. In these cases, the Rule requires new notice and consent.

Timing The Rule covers all personal information collected after April 21, 2000, regardless of any prior relationship an operator has had with a child. For example, if an operator collects the name and email address of a child before April 21, 2000, but plans to seek information about the child's street address after that date, the later collection would trigger the Rule's requirements. In addition, come April 21, 2000, if an operator continues to offer activities that involve the ongoing collection of information from children - like a chat room - or begins to offer such activities for the first time, notice and consent are required for all participating children regardless of whether the children had already registered at the site.

Access Verification At a parent's request, operators must disclose the general kinds of personal information they collect from children (for example, name, address, telephone number, email address, hobbies), as well as the specific information collected from children who visit their sites. Operators must ensure they are dealing with the child's parent before they provide access to the child's specific information. They can use a variety of methods to verify the parent's identity, including:

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obtaining a signed form from the parent via postal mail or facsimile;

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accepting and verifying a credit card number;

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taking calls from parents on a toll-free telephone number staffed by trained personnel;

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email accompanied by digital signature;

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e-mail accompanied by a PIN or password obtained through one of the verification methods above.

Revoking & Deleting At any time, a parent may revoke his/her consent, refuse to allow an operator to further use or collect their child's personal information and direct the operator to delete the information. In turn, the operator may terminate any service provided to the child, but only if the information at issue is reasonably necessary for the child's participation in that activity. For example, an operator may require children to provide their email addresses to participate in a chat room so the operator can contact a youngster if he is misbehaving in the chat room. If, after giving consent, a parent asks the operator to delete the child's information, the operator may refuse to allow the child to participate in the chat room in the future. If other activities on the Web site do not require the child's email address, the operator must allow the child access to those activities.

Safe Harbors Industry groups or others can create self-regulatory programs to govern participants' compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. These guidelines must include independent monitoring and disciplinary procedures and must be submitted to the Commission for approval. The Commission will publish the guidelines and seek public comment in considering whether to approve the guidelines. An operator's compliance with Commission-approved self-regulatory guidelines will serve as a "safe harbor" in any enforcement action for violations of the Rule. Enforcement Once the Rule becomes effective (April 2000), the Commission may bring enforcement actions and impose civil penalties for violations in the same manner as for other Rules under the FTC Act. In the meantime, the Commission also retains authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to examine information practices in use before the Rule's effective date for deception and unfairness. In interpreting Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Commission has determined that a representation, omission or practice is deceptive if it is likely to: •

mislead consumers; and

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affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the product or service.

Specifically, it is a deceptive practice under Section 5 to represent that a Web site is collecting personal identifying information from a child for one reason (say, to earn points to redeem a premium) when the information will be used for another reason that a parent would find materialand when the Web site does not disclose the other reason clearly or prominently. In addition, an act or practice is unfair if the injury it causes, or is likely to cause, is:

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substantial;

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not outweighed by other benefits; and

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not reasonably avoidable.

For example, it is likely to be an unfair practice in violation of Section 5 to collect personal identifying information from a child, such as email address, home address or phone number, and sell or otherwise disclose that information to a third party without giving parents adequate notice and a chance to control the collection and use of the information. For More Information If you have questions about complying with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, visit the FTC online at www.ftc.gov. Click on Privacy Initiatives. Or, call the FTC's Consumer Response Center toll-free at 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357), or write Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. Your Opportunity to Comment The Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and 10 Regional Fairness Boards collect comments from small businesses about federal enforcement actions. Each year, the Ombudsman evaluates enforcement activities and rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. To comment on FTC actions, call 1-888-734-3247.