{"id":79884,"date":"2017-04-17T13:30:18","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T17:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=79884"},"modified":"2017-04-16T23:35:13","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T03:35:13","slug":"schneiderman-announces-100000-settlement-with-truste-over-flawed-privacy-certification-program-for-popular-childrens-websites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=79884","title":{"rendered":"Schneiderman announces $100,000 settlement with TRUSTe over flawed privacy certification program for popular children&#8217;s websites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?attachment_id=70131\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-70131\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-70131\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?resize=260%2C221\" alt=\"\" width=\"260\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?w=260&amp;ssl=1 260w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?resize=150%2C128&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><\/a>Failures Left Visitors To Popular Children&#8217;s Websites Vulnerable To Illegal Tracking Technology\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><em>Children&#8217;s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Imposes Major Restrictions On Online Tracking Of Children Under Age 13<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with True Ultimate Standards Everywhere, Inc., in connection with the company&#8217;s failure to adequately prevent illegal tracking technology from surfacing on some of the nation&#8217;s most popular children&#8217;s websites. TRUSTe&#8217;s failure to adequately assess its customers\u2019 websites, which included\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/links.govdelivery.com\/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNDA2LjcyMDEzMDUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDQwNi43MjAxMzA1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTE1ODQ3JmVtYWlsaWQ9bWFyZ29AbTNwbWVkaWEuY29tJnVzZXJpZD1tYXJnb0BtM3BtZWRpYS5jb20mdGFyZ2V0aWQ9JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;100&amp;&amp;&amp;https:\/\/mymail10.ag.ny.gov\/owa\/redir.aspx?REF=J0jtXC9N2rOx_lNZH3tDJb-9f_RyWov1IygSp9Vx5mE0rJwH5nzUCAFodHRwOi8vcm9ibG94LmNvbS8.\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/links.govdelivery.com:80\/track?type%3Dclick%26enid%3DZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNDA2LjcyMDEzMDUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDQwNi43MjAxMzA1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTE1ODQ3JmVtYWlsaWQ9bWFyZ29AbTNwbWVkaWEuY29tJnVzZXJpZD1tYXJnb0BtM3BtZWRpYS5jb20mdGFyZ2V0aWQ9JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY%3D%26%26%26100%26%26%26https:\/\/mymail10.ag.ny.gov\/owa\/redir.aspx?REF%3DJ0jtXC9N2rOx_lNZH3tDJb-9f_RyWov1IygSp9Vx5mE0rJwH5nzUCAFodHRwOi8vcm9ibG94LmNvbS8.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1492483397215000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE2Ejnz0A15uB-yh_175i4GmmwEMw\">Roblox.com<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/links.govdelivery.com\/track?type=click&amp;enid=ZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNDA2LjcyMDEzMDUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDQwNi43MjAxMzA1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTE1ODQ3JmVtYWlsaWQ9bWFyZ29AbTNwbWVkaWEuY29tJnVzZXJpZD1tYXJnb0BtM3BtZWRpYS5jb20mdGFyZ2V0aWQ9JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&amp;&amp;&amp;101&amp;&amp;&amp;https:\/\/mymail10.ag.ny.gov\/owa\/redir.aspx?REF=tkwwbznE3mx1p5ZwhP8Cf9hwckGyQXpYnkGermF-eXI0rJwH5nzUCAFodHRwOi8vaGFzYnJvLmNvbS8.\" target=\"_blank\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/links.govdelivery.com:80\/track?type%3Dclick%26enid%3DZWFzPTEmbXNpZD0mYXVpZD0mbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTcwNDA2LjcyMDEzMDUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE3MDQwNi43MjAxMzA1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE2OTE1ODQ3JmVtYWlsaWQ9bWFyZ29AbTNwbWVkaWEuY29tJnVzZXJpZD1tYXJnb0BtM3BtZWRpYS5jb20mdGFyZ2V0aWQ9JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY%3D%26%26%26101%26%26%26https:\/\/mymail10.ag.ny.gov\/owa\/redir.aspx?REF%3DtkwwbznE3mx1p5ZwhP8Cf9hwckGyQXpYnkGermF-eXI0rJwH5nzUCAFodHRwOi8vaGFzYnJvLmNvbS8.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1492483397216000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFM6x0VkM245670LznGrTMP60wE3Q\">Hasbro.com<\/a>, left underage visitors to those websites vulnerable to illegal tracking prohibited under the federal Children&#8217;s Online Privacy Protection Act.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">As part of the settlement, TRUSTe will pay a penalty of $100,000 and adopt new measures to strengthen its privacy assessments.\u00a0Today&#8217;s settlement is the first time any state or federal law enforcement agency has taken action against the operator of a privacy certification program for children\u2019s websites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">\u201cCompanies entrusted with protecting children\u2019s privacy online have a responsibility that my office takes seriously \u2013 now, more than ever before,\u201d said <strong>Attorney General Schneiderman<\/strong>. \u201cTRUSTe failed to meet its obligations to keep children safe from the prying eyes of online trackers and its customers within the parameters of the law.\u00a0 My office is committed to protecting children online and will continue to hold accountable those who violate this or any other online privacy statute.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The settlement announced today concerns TRUSTe\u2019s Children\u2019s Privacy Program, a \u201csafe harbor program,\u201d designed to assess website operators\u2019 compliance with COPPA.\u00a0COPPA encourages operators of children\u2019s websites to participate in such programs by providing a safe harbor from enforcement actions to operators that comply with safe harbor program rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">As the operator of a COPPA safe harbor program, TRUSTe is required to conduct a comprehensive review of website operators\u2019 policies, practices, and representations at least once per year to assess operators\u2019 compliance with COPPA.\u00a0The Attorney General\u2019s office found, however, that TRUSTe\u2019s annual reviews failed to adhere to the company\u2019s own policies in the following critical respects:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Although TRUSTe conducted electronic scans of customers\u2019 websites for third-party tracking technology prohibited by COPPA, in many cases TRUSTe omitted most or all of its customers\u2019 children\u2019s webpages from its scans.\u00a0TRUSTe therefore could not determine whether unexpected third party tracking technologies were present on these customers\u2019 children\u2019s websites.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">In many cases, TRUSTe failed to provide its customers with relevant results from its electronic scans, including some of the third party tracking technologies that TRUSTe had detected.\u00a0 This deprived TRUSTe\u2019s customers of an opportunity to analyze the results to identify tracking technologies that violate COPPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe accepted customers\u2019 representations that third party tracking technologies found on their children\u2019s websites did not violate COPPA instead of independently determining whether the tracking technologies violated COPPA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">These failures allowed COPPA violations to continue on children\u2019s websites.\u00a0The settlement requires that TRUSTe implements a more rigorous privacy assessment process for its COPPA safe harbor program, including:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe must conduct electronic scans of a substantial portion of each of its customers\u2019 children\u2019s websites for tracking technologies prohibited by COPPA.\u00a0 Only dedicated employees with expertise and experience operating TRUSTe\u2019s scanning software may conduct the scans.\u00a0After scans have completed, employees must verify that each scan was conducted properly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe must disclose to its customers every third party tracking technology identified through TRUSTe\u2019s scans. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe must require that its customers provide information about the third parties operating on the customers\u2019 children\u2019s websites, including the types of information each third party collects and how that information is used.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe must review the information that customers provide to determine whether each of the identified third party tracking technologies violates COPPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">TRUSTe must maintain a database of third party tracking technologies to assist in its determination of whether identified third party tracking technologies violate COPPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The Office of the Attorney General thanks the Federal Trade Commission for its assistance in this case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">This is the second announcement made in connection with \u201cOperation Child Tracker,\u201d the Attorney General\u2019s ongoing investigation into the illegal tracking of children\u2019s online activity by marketers, advertising companies, and others. In September 2016, the Attorney General announced that his office had entered into settlements with four companies that had violated COPPA by allowing illegal third-party tracking technologies on some of the nation\u2019s most popular kids\u2019 websites, including websites for Barbie, Nick Jr., My Little Pony, American Girl, Hot Wheels, and dozens of others.\u00a0 Those companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $835,000 and to adopt comprehensive reforms to protect children from improper tracking and the collection of children\u2019s personal information in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">In September 2016, the Attorney General announced that his office had entered into settlements with four companies that had violated COPPA by allowing illegal third-party tracking technologies on some of the nation\u2019s most popular kids\u2019 websites, including websites for Barbie, Nick Jr., My Little Pony, American Girl, Hot Wheels, and dozens of others. Those companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $835,000 and to adopt comprehensive reforms to protect children from improper tracking and the collection of children\u2019s personal information in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Those companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $835,000 and to adopt comprehensive reforms to protect children from improper tracking and the collection of children\u2019s personal information in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">This case was handled by Bureau of Internet and Technology Assistant Attorney General Jordan Adler and Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell under the supervision of Bureau Chief Kathleen McGee.\u00a0The Bureau of Internet and Technology is overseen by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Manisha M. Sheth.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Failures Left Visitors To Popular Children&#8217;s Websites Vulnerable To Illegal Tracking Technology\u00a0 Children&#8217;s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Imposes Major Restrictions On Online Tracking Of Children Under Age 13 Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with True Ultimate Standards Everywhere, Inc., in connection with the company&#8217;s failure to adequately prevent illegal tracking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-kMs","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?fit=260%2C221&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}