Complain about a product or service

Xanga.com Fined for Children's Privacy Violations

September 11, 2006

• TSA Site Left Passenger Data Exposed To ID Theft • Connecticut Governor Wants 'Opt Out' For Online Directories • Verizon Gave Customer Data To Government Without Court Orders • House Democrats Probe Warrantless Surveillance • Many Facebook Users Compromise Own Identities • Spy Court Tells White House To Fess Up • FBI Uses Data Brokers, "Risk Scores" To Hunt Terrorists • GAO: "Critical" Weaknesses In FBI Security Network • How Safe Is That Free Wi-Fi Connection? • Businesses Back Off Spy Chips • Insurer Unlawfully Poached Consumers' Credit Reports • GAO Cites Medical Privacy Issues • Google Anti-Phishing Feature Accidentally Reveals Too Much • Bush Spy Program Placed Under Court Review • "National Security Letters" Used To Examine Americans' Financial Records • Bush Gives Himself Authority to Search the Mail • Court Shuts Down "Media Motor" Spyware Operation • Consumerists Want FTC Probe of Online Advertising • Firefox/Google Team Up To Fight Phishing • Schwarzenegger Terminates Spychip Bill • For Sale: Your Health Care Records • Xanga.com Fined for Children's Privacy Violations • Facebook Does an About Face • Chase Trashes Tapes Containing Circuit City Customers' Data --- • More Privacy News ...

Social networking site Xanga.com will pay a $1 million civil penalty for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) under the terms of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the FTC, Xanga.com collected, used, and disclosed personal information from children under the age of 13 without first notifying parents and obtaining their consent. The penalty is the largest ever assessed by the FTC for a COPPA violation, and is more than twice the next largest penalty.

The complaint charges that the defendants had actual knowledge they were collecting and disclosing personal information from children. The Xanga site stated that children under 13 could not join, but then allowed visitors to create Xanga accounts even if they provided a birth date indicating they were under 13.

Further, they failed to notify the children's parents of their information practices or provide the parents with access to and control over their children's information. The defendants created 1.7 million Xanga accounts over the past five years for users who submitted age information indicating they were under 13.

"Protecting kids' privacy online is a top priority for America's parents, and for the FTC," said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras. "COPPA requires all commercial Web sites, including operators of social networking sites like Xanga, to give parents notice and obtain their consent before collecting personal information from kids they know are under 13. A million-dollar penalty should make that obligation crystal clear."

Xanga.com is one of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet. After setting up a personal profile, users can post information about themselves for other users to read and respond to.

On Xanga.com, users can create their own pages or Web logs (blogs) that contain profile information, online journals, text, hypertext images, as well as links to audio, video, and other files or sites. Information on the Xanga site is available to the general public through the use of global search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Incorporated in 1999 and based in New York City, privately held Xanga.com, Inc. was founded by Marc Ginsburg and John Hiler. In 2005, Xanga had about 25 million registered accounts.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |