Thursday, May 12, 2011

Disney's Playdom Pays $3M In FTC Settlement

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that online virtual world site Playdom, Inc., which is now owned by Disney, has agreed to pay $3M to settle charges that the firm violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule. The FTC said that Playdom illegally collected and disclosed personal information from hundreds of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents' prior consent. The FTC compliant named Playdom Inc. and company executive Howard Marks. The FTC said in statement that "whether you are a virtual world, a social network, or any other interactive site that appeals to kids, you owe it to parents and their children to provide proper notice and get proper consent." Disney purchased Playdom in August of 2010.

---