Groups say McDonald's, Nickelodeon violate kids' privacy
Consumer advocates accused companies including McDonald's and Viacom's Nickelodeon of unlawfully using children to market their websites through campaigns that encourage sharing video, games and other content.
The Center for Digital Democracy and 16 other groups asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to investigate, accusing the companies of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by asking children to divulge personal information and the information of friends without parental consent.
Angela Campbell, a Georgetown law professor and legal counsel for the Center for Digital Democracy, said the FTC should stop such "commercial exploitation of children." The FTC implemented the children's privacy law in 2000 through its Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, which gives parents a say over what information websites can collect about children under age 13.
