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Dear
all,
Happy
Belated New Year. I do hope you all have a good 2010 year. Over the next few
weeks I plan on sending you updates and/or follow ups with regards to various
questions/concerns or membership/education issues.
Last
year the question came up with regards to posting the birthdates of athletes on
the websites. It was stated at that time not to post birth dates. Please read
below the clarification which was sent to us from one of the legal offices. I
believe at this time you are all following the guidelines from last year with
regards to not posting birth dates. However, I wanted you to see the message
below with regards to the law and its intent. This is not a change, just
clarification.
Thank
you for referring this interesting question from USA Gymnastics. Here are my
thoughts:
The
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) would not apply to this
situation. The law applies to the online collection of personal information
from children under age 13, without verified parental consent. In this
situation, as I understand it, children under age 13 would enroll in gymnastics
programs and participate in events with the consent of their parent or
guardian. (The enrollment can take place through a secure online site, or
offline.) Of course, the consent form should contain a notice that the parent
signs, indicating how the child’s information will be collected, used and
shared.
The
posting of scores (and the ages of the winners) from gymnastics competitions is
based on information already collected/events that transpired, and does not
involve a solicitation of minors to provide personal information about
themselves through the USA Gymnastics site.
As
an example of how COPPA applies (which is much different than the USA Gymnastics
context), please note that earlier this week, the FTC entered into a settlement
agreement with Iconix Group Brands, which manufactures and sells a number of
children’s brands such as Candie’s, OP and Bongo. Iconix
was knowingly collecting all sorts of information through its websites from
children under age 13, including their names, addresses, email address, and even
full dates of birth—all without any type of parental consent. The company’s
website privacy policy specifically noted that the company does not seek to
collect any information from children under age 13. Iconix
must pay a fine of $275,000, destroy all of the information collected, and
adhere to many other requirements contained in an 20 year FTC consent
decree.
If
USA Gymnastics were to sell products or services online, or solicit minors to
sign up for sweepstakes or similar programs, they would fall under COPPA.
Posting scores from competitions is not the same thing.
Although
the posting of gymnastics scores and dates of birth would not violate COPPA
under the circumstances involved here, it is nevertheless very important to
protect the information of minors. I would never post the dates of birth of
minors on a public website, and agree that age ranges are a much better
approach. They could also consider abbreviating names of children, such as
Janie M, Katie L, etc. I would also be careful about posting pictures of
minors, especially if the consent forms don’t address this.
Joan
A.
Partner
Kathy
Feldmann
Vice President-Member Services
USA Gymnastics
132 E. Washington St, Suite 700
Indianapolis, IN 46204
kfeldmann@usa-gymnastics.org
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