Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro Penalized for Allowing Illegal Online Tracking of Kids, Says NY AG

Hasbro, JumpStart Games, Mattel and Viacom agreed to pay $835,000 collectively in penalties and to institute changes to prevent third parties from illegally tracking, collecting and using personal data from children under 13 who visit those companies' popular websites, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Tuesday after a two-year investigation. Schneiderman, who held a web-streamed news conference and whose office issued a news release, said the results of the investigation were "frankly shocking." He said the companies violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars companies from specifically collecting children's data, including names, email addresses, cookies and IP addresses, without their parents' permission. Many of those companies' sites were "littered" with technologies to track and collect data illegally without the knowledge of the companies that operate the sites, he said. As part of the settlement, the companies will regularly monitor sites to identify unexpected third-party tracking, vet vendors before allowing them on their sites and update privacy policies, among other actions, he said. Hasbro, which owns popular sites like My Little Pony, said in an emailed statement it fully cooperated with the investigation and it's "rolling out a new, stricter online privacy protection policy for our partners, and enacting new protocols and technology to scan our digital properties for any cookies, widgets or other applications that may violate our policy." Mattel, which operates popular Barbie and Hot Wheels sites, said in an email it regards online privacy and security "very seriously" and takes "prompt action" to investigate and remedy issues anytime it's notified. Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon, said in an email it has a "longstanding commitment" to protect children's privacy and the AG's investigation resolves "an earlier generation of Nickelodeon websites." JumpStart didn't comment.