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Legislation was introduced in the US Senate Wednesday that would prohibit the sale of lists of children under the age of 16 without first getting parental consent. The sweeping measure, called the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act (S. 2160), was introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). It would apply to any personally identifiable information used for marketing purposes.
The bill would have a major impact on the use of lists to send information to families. It would harm nearly all members of Kids in the Know, who use lists to provide information to families about educational opportunities, books and magazines, educational enrichment programs, and other services that benefit children and families.
Senator Wyden noted that his bill would go far beyond existing federal restrictions contained in the No Child Left Behind Act, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Unlike COPPA, which covers online collection of data from children under the age of 13, the Wyden bill would apply to all lists used for commercial purposes and extend to older children as well.
“Aside from the obvious privacy issues,” Senator Wyden said in a news release, “young children are not likely to understand the intent and tactics of marketing pitches the way adults do, and may be more vulnerable to influence, manipulation, and outright deception.”
The legislation defines “personal information” as including name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, Social Security number, or “any other information that permits a specific individual to be identified.” An “opt-in” requirement, parental consent would need to be affirmative, explicit, and provided in writing.
The legislation is strongly supported by Commercial Alert, a Portland, Oregon-based anti-corporate advocacy group.
It was cosponsored by Alaska's two Senators, Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski, and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Senators Wyden and Stevens are members of that panel.
For more information about the issues outlined in this update – or for information
about other Kids in the Know’s activities – send an e-mail to info@kidsintheknow.org.
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