While companies may often feel like the FTC may be less inclined to go after smaller, alleged Section 5 violations, that is not always the case, particularly when it comes to COPPA. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act commonly referred to as COPPA applies to the online collection of personal information from children under the age of 13, requires that website operators implement procedures to ensure that it not collect personal information from children without obtaining prior parental consent, and that it delete any such information about which it becomes aware.
In a Complaint filed in Federal District Court in New York on Tuesday, the Iconix Brand Group, Inc., the owner, licensee and/or marketer of such popular children and teenage apparel brands as Mudd, Candie’s, Bongo, and OP, was targeted by the FTC for COPPA violations. The Complaint alleged that since 2006, Iconix knowingly collected and stored personal information from approximately 1,000 children without first notifying their parents or obtaining parental consent. According to the Complaint, Iconix also enabled children to publicly share personal stories and photos online.
The Complaint underscores the need for companies not only to develop privacy policies that comply with COPPA guidelines, but to implement and comply with those policies. According to the Complaint, while Iconix posted privacy policies on its websites that contained COPPA guidelines ― it failed to implement or comply with those policies. As such, the FTC charged Iconix with falsely stating in its privacy policies that it would not seek to collect personal information from children without obtaining prior parental consent, and that it would delete any children’s personal information that it became aware of.
Rather than contest the FTC’s allegations, Iconix has agreed to pay a $250,000 civil penalty and enter into a Consent Order prohibiting the company from violating COPPA in the future; and requiring the company to delete all personal information collected and maintained in violation of COPPA and to distribute the Order and the FTC’s “How to Comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule” to company personnel.
- Randy Shaheen and Alan Veronick
