Adotas

Where media buyers start online







News

Iconix pays fine for gathering kid info online

Written on
Oct 21, 2009 
Author
Gavin Dunaway  |
Share
Iconix pays fine for gathering kid info online

gavel_small.jpgADOTAS – Hey brands — leave those kids alone!

Buffering the notion that the Federal Trade Commission is serious about protecting the information of children, Iconix Brand Group has agreed to pay a fine to settle a complaint that the company violated federal law in collecting data from its youth-centric clothing websites.

The owner of such brands as Candies, Mudd and Bongo had been accused of collecting registration information including birthdates from at least 1,000 children ages 12 and under without parental consent, a big no-no under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Iconix sent the very minor minors newsletters and entered them into sweepstakes.

To make matters seedier, Iconix also allowed users who were 13 and younger upload photos and post personal information to its various company websites.

The $250,000 fine seems more symbolic than punishing. In addition, Iconix did not admit to any wrongdoing and said in a statement that noncompliance was “inadvertent” and caused no harm to the children involved. Still, this is the fourteenth action the FTC has taken against a company under COPPA.





Reader Comments.

No comments yet

Leave a Comment

Add a comment

Tags: , , and
Article Sponsor

More News



  • Right now, at the beginning of 2012, what are you watching the most closely for its ad and marketing opportunities?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Latest News

News Archive

Spotlight

Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...



Adotas Partnership