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Cassidy Sehgal-Kolbet Cassidy@mamamedia.com To: "'safeharbor@ftc.gov'" safeharbor@ftc.gov Date: Friday, June 02, 2000 10:17:05 AM Subject: safeharbor comment May 30, 2000 Donald S. Clark Re: CARU Safe Harbor Proposal - Comment, P004504 Dear Mr. Clark: MaMaMedia Incorporated ("MaMaMedia") and the Geppetto Group ("Geppetto") are pleased to submit this brief electronic comment in support of the Safe Harbor Proposal of the Children's Advertising Review Unit ("CARU") of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in response to the Notice published by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") at 65 Fed. Reg. 24960 (April 28, 2000). MaMaMedia is one of the leading children's sites on the web (located at <http://www.mamamedia.com>) and contains safe and dynamic activities for kids that promote technological fluency. The Geppetto Group is a kid and teen advertising agency and marketing consulting company. As members of the CARU Advisory Board, our organizations have greatly benefited from the guidance provided by CARU. We submit this comment for the record to state that the CARU Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Interactive Media (the "Guidelines") are fully consistent with, and in some instances exceed, the standards prescribed by the Commission under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), 15 U.S.C. 6501, et seq., and we therefore urge the approval of the program as a Safe Harbor. Founded more than 25 years ago, CARU is the foremost self-regulatory body in the U.S. promoting responsible children's advertising and marketing. CARU's reach has extended not only to traditional media and advertising issues, but in 1996, CARU established the first self-regulatory guidelines governing online information collection from children to promote safety and privacy. The success of these guidelines is reflected by the fact that both COPPA and the Commission's implementing rules, at 16 C.F.R. § 312 et seq., so closely mirror them. Moreover, the success of the Guidelines is also highlighted by the fact that most major children's websites are compliant with them or have sought CARU's assistance in devising privacy protections. For example, MaMaMedia.com offers a wide array of activities for children online ranging from moderated message boards to electronic greeting cards to features that allow kids to create art, stories or other projects online. In so doing, MaMaMedia goes to great lengths to safeguard children, protect their privacy and minimize information collection or disclosure by kids. To that end, MaMaMedia has always respected the CARU Guidelines, posted a privacy policy and sent emails to parents of children who have registered at our site to let them know how we protect the safety and privacy of kids. Thus, our organizations share the Commission's concern for kids' safety as they explore the Web and develop online learning skills and we strongly endorse the Safe Harbor Proposal submitted by CARU. Based on our experience with CARU, our comment is focused on three brief points. First, we believe that the CARU proposal offers an effective mechanism to assess compliance with the COPPA Guidelines. Moreover, we concur with the comments submitted by Mars Inc. -- that at this time, it is not necessary to consider alternatives to CARU's proposed mechanism for compliance, which includes a combination of seeding of sites, routine patrolling and a self-assessment form to be completed by program participants. Unlike other proposals that may be submitted to the Commission, the CARU program is tried and true. Through seeding and routine patrolling of children's websites (or general sites with content for kids) CARU has worked with more than 100 operators to bring them into compliance -- whether or not the operator has previously been involved in the CARU program. Thus, CARU's historic success coupled with the new requirement that site operators annually submit the self-assessment certificate with a statement of agreement to participate in the CARU dispute resolution program will bolster CARU's ability to achieve on-going compliance by site operators. Second, the CARU Guidelines track COPPA's requirements set out in §§ 312.2-312.8 of the implementing for providing parental notice, choice, consent and data confidentiality and security in both letter and spirit. We do not believe it is necessary to offer a section-by-section analysis, since the CARU comment sufficiently details the comparison. Instead we emphasize that the CARU Guidelines do not need to duplicate the language of the rule since they state: "CARU's aim is that the Guidelines will always support "notice," "choice" and "consent" as defined by the Federal Trade Commission, and reflect the latest developments in technology and the application to children's advertising." Thus, CARU's interpretation of COPPA's scope and effect is consistent with the Commission's. Moreover, the Guidelines recognize that any interpretation of definitions or any identified methods of compliance with COPPA (such as methods for providing parental notice/obtaining consent or securing data) must take into account the dynamic nature of technology and that changes may make inflexible choices for compliance obsolete. Finally, CARU's process offers parents and other members of the public with the ability to inquire or file complaints about sites with content directed toward children - free of charge - whether or not the site in question is a member of the program - thereby offering parents with another avenue - in addition to directly approaching the Commission with inquiries. This process may in some instances offer a more expedient resolution to a complaint than relying solely on Commission resolution. Thus, this program offers small and large web site operators a meaningful way to obtain additional guidance on COPPA compliance, while also offering a tremendous value to the public at large by providing a venue for seeking resolution to their complaints. Conclusion MaMaMedia and the Geppetto Group enthusiastically offer our support for the acceptance of the CARU program under the safe harbor provisions of COPPA. CARU's proposed program is consistent -- both in letter and spirit with COPPA -- and it exceeds COPPA's requirements since it incorporate principles of responsible advertising and marketing to children. We are confident that the program will provide meaningful enforcement mechanisms that will continue to foster safe and enjoyable activities for children online. Respectfully Submitted, Cassidy Sehgal-Kolbet Julie Halpin |