Broken Thumbs pays $50,000 for violating child privacy laws

August 16th, 2011, 22:22 Posted By: wraggster

App developer Broken Thumbs has settled with the Federal Trade Commission in the US for breaking child privacy laws.
The developer of Emily's Girl World and related titles will now pay $50,000 for collecting "tens of thousands" of email addresses from children under the age of 13 without notifying their parents.
"The FTC’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a website or a mobile app," said Chairman Jon Leibowitz. "Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when it comes to their children's sharing of information on smartphones."
The FTC also alleges that Broken Thumbs also allowed children to share personal information on message boards, again breaking the COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ) rule. Broken Thumbs will not be allowed to violate the rule again and all personal information is to be deleted.
Earlier this year Disney's Playdom social business settled with the FTC for a similar violation for $3 million.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...d-privacy-laws

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