FTC Fines Social Network Xanga $1 Million for Underage User Accounts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 8, 2006 - 2:16pm.

Washington - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week that social networking site Xanga.com will pay the largest civil penalty levied thus far -- $1 million -- for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Act. The company is alleged to have allowed some 1.7 million accounts over the past five years to be created by persons whose stated age was younger than 13. The FTC said Xanga disclosed personal information about the members without first notifying and obtaining consent from parents, in violation of the law. For its part, New York-based Xanga argued that some of the "underage" accounts were created using a pet's birthday, a couple's wedding date, or a religious person's "born again" date. "[The law] requires all commercial websites, including operators of social networking sites like Xanga, to give parents notice and obtain their consent before collecting personal information from kids they know are under 13," said FTC chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. "A million-dollar penalty should make that obligation crystal clear."
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/09/xanga.htm
http://press.xanga.com/2006/09/07/statement/#more-5
http://tinyurl.com/g46q7 (CNET)