The FTC has decided not to pursue an enforcement action against Clearwater Aquarium for alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection (“COPPA”) Rule. 

In February 2012, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (“CARU”) referred the Clearwater Aquarium’s website to the FTC for review under COPPA after the Aquarium reportedly did not respond to CARU’s inquiry.  CARU claimed that the site featured a “Kidzone” where visitors could sign up for an e-newsletter by entering their first and last names, mailing and email addresses, and cellphone numbers.  CARU was concerned that the Aquarium collected personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen without first obtaining parental consent and that the Aquarium’s privacy policy — which stated that it did not collect information from children under 18 without parental consent — did not accurately reflect its actual privacy practices.

After reviewing the website, the FTC concluded “that the information collection practices that had triggered CARU’s inquiry had been remedied.”  The FTC declined to take any further action, instead referring the matter back to CARU. 

CARU, a division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, is a self-regulatory body that monitors websites for compliance with COPPA.  Although CARU’s self-regulatory program is completely voluntary, CARU may refer cases to the FTC if companies refuse to respond to inquiry letters.  The FTC reviews CARU’s case referrals to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate.  Although the FTC has initiated enforcement actions in response to CARU referrals in the past, the Clearwater Aquarium case is a reminder that the FTC may decide no further action is necessary.  

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Photo of Lindsey Tonsager Lindsey Tonsager

Lindsey Tonsager helps national and multinational clients in a broad range of industries anticipate and effectively evaluate legal and reputational risks under federal and state data privacy and communications laws.

In addition to assisting clients engage strategically with the Federal Trade Commission, the…

Lindsey Tonsager helps national and multinational clients in a broad range of industries anticipate and effectively evaluate legal and reputational risks under federal and state data privacy and communications laws.

In addition to assisting clients engage strategically with the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Congress, and other federal and state regulators on a proactive basis, she has experience helping clients respond to informal investigations and enforcement actions, including by self-regulatory bodies such as the Digital Advertising Alliance and Children’s Advertising Review Unit.

Ms. Tonsager’s practice focuses on helping clients launch new products and services that implicate the laws governing the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising and social media, the collection of personal information from children and students online, behavioral advertising, e-mail marketing, artificial intelligence the processing of “big data” in the Internet of Things, spectrum policy, online accessibility, compulsory copyright licensing, telecommunications and new technologies.

Ms. Tonsager also conducts privacy and data security diligence in complex corporate transactions and negotiates agreements with third-party service providers to ensure that robust protections are in place to avoid unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of customer data and other types of confidential information. She regularly assists clients in developing clear privacy disclosures and policies―including website and mobile app disclosures, terms of use, and internal social media and privacy-by-design programs.