Sony Music Faces $1 Million Fine for Privacy Violations Involving Minors

Sony Music has agreed to a $1 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, marking the largest penalty ever imposed for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The case involved 196 fan websites for popular artists including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Good Charlotte, and Chris Brown. Despite claiming that under-13 users would be restricted from participating in website activities, Sony failed to implement any mechanisms to enforce this policy.

According to the FTC complaint, Sony collected extensive personal data from site visitors, including names, birth dates, email addresses, phone numbers, and location information. The company ultimately gathered information from more than 30,000 children, allowing them to create profiles displaying their age and join fan clubs that sent direct communications.

FTC Chairman William E. Kovacic emphasized that "sites with social networking features, like any websites, need to get parental consent before collecting kids' personal information," adding that Sony was being penalized for failing to meet its COPPA obligations.

The settlement requires Sony to delete all improperly collected data, educate employees about COPPA compliance, and maintain specific record-keeping and reporting standards. For the next five years, Sony must also display links to the FTC's COPPA information and social networking safety resources on its websites.

The affected children will not receive any portion of the settlement money, which amounts to approximately $33 per child whose information was improperly collected.

Sony Music did not respond to requests for comment before publication deadline.

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