Iconix Brand Group, Inc., in October 2009, agreed to pay a $250,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act "by knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children online without first obtaining their parents’ permission," according to the FTC.
Since 2006, the FTC said, Iconix, which owns youth-oriented brands including Candie's, Bongo, OP and Mudd, "knowingly collected and stored personal information from approximately 1,000 children without first notifying their parents or obtaining parental consent." One of its sites, MyMuddWorld.com, the company "also enabled girls to publicly share personal stories and photos online," the FTC said.
Sony Music, in late 2008, agreed to pay $1 million as part of a settlement to resolve FTC charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The FTC said that through its music fan Web sites, Sony "improperly collected, maintained and disclosed personal information from thousands of children under the age of 13, without their parents’ consent." The $1 million was the "largest penalty ever in a COPPA case," the FTC said.
The privacy protection act, in place since 2000, requires Web sites that collect information from children under age 13 to get consent first from a parent before getting information from a child.
Personal Comment: Companies need to be aware when collecting data from user, they have to avoid collecting data from children who under age 13 or to get permission from their parent before proceed to collection of data. Its important to follow the act that indicates personal data shall be collected fairly and lawfully in PDP Act 2010. PDP Act 2010, Principle 1:Personal Data shall be Collected Fairly and Lawfully. Neither fairly or lawfully is defined. Definition of “unlawful" R v R “…something which is contrary to some law or enactment or is done without lawful justification or excuse.” *House of Lords, 1991
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