[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57319-57320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22638]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 18, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 57319]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 312

RIN 3084-AB20


Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed 
Self-Regulatory Guidelines; kidSAFE Seal Program Application for Safe 
Harbor

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission requests public comment 
concerning the proposed self-regulatory guidelines submitted by the 
kidSAFE Seal Program (``kidSAFE''), owned and operated by Samet 
Privacy, LLC, under the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online 
Privacy Protection Rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``kidSAFE Application 
for Safe Harbor, Project No. P-135418'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/coppakidsafeapp, by following the instructions on the web-based form. 
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail or deliver your 
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of 
the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex E), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Cohen, Attorney, (202) 326-
2276, or Peder Magee, Attorney, (202) 326-3538, Division of Privacy and 
Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section A. Background

    On October 20, 1999, the Commission issued its final Rule pursuant 
to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq, 
which became effective on April 21, 2000.\1\ On December 19, 2012, the 
Commission amended the Rule, and these amendments became effective on 
July 1, 2013.\2\ The Rule requires certain Web site operators to post 
privacy policies and provide notice, and to obtain verifiable parental 
consent, prior to collecting, using, or disclosing personal information 
from children under the age of 13.\3\ The Rule contains a ``safe 
harbor'' provision enabling industry groups or others to submit to the 
Commission for approval self-regulatory guidelines that would implement 
the Rule's protections.\4\
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    \1\ 64 FR 59888 (1999).
    \2\ 78 FR 3972 (2013).
    \3\ 16 CFR Part 312.
    \4\ See 16 CFR 312.11; 78 FR at 3995-3996, 4012-4013.
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    Pursuant to Section 312.11 of the Rule, kidSAFE has submitted 
proposed self-regulatory guidelines to the Commission for approval. The 
full text of the proposed guidelines is available on the Commission's 
Web site, at www.ftc.gov.

Section B. Questions on the Proposed Guidelines

    The Commission is seeking comment on various aspects of the 
proposed guidelines, and is particularly interested in receiving 
comment on the questions that follow. These questions are designed to 
assist the public and should not be construed as a limitation on the 
issues on which public comment may be submitted. Each response should 
cite the number and subsection of the question being answered. For all 
comments submitted, please provide any relevant data, statistics, or 
any other evidence, upon which those comments are based.
    1. Please provide comments on any or all of the provisions in the 
proposed guidelines. For each provision commented on please describe 
(a) the impact of the provision(s), including benefits and costs, if 
any, and (b) what alternatives, if any, kidSAFE should consider, as 
well as the costs and benefits of those alternatives.
    2. Do the provisions of the proposed guidelines governing 
operators' information practices provide ``the same or greater 
protections for children'' as those contained in Sections 312.2-312.10 
of the Rule? \5\ Where possible, please cite the relevant sections of 
both the Rule and the proposed guidelines.
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    \5\ See 16 CFR 312.11(b)(1); 78 FR at 4013.
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    3. Are the mechanisms used to assess operators' compliance with the 
proposed guidelines effective? \6\ If not, please describe (a) whether 
and how the assessment mechanisms could be modified to satisfy the 
Rule's requirements, and (b) the costs and benefits of those 
modifications.
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    \6\ See 16 CFR 312.11(b)(2); 78 FR at 4013.
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    4. Are the incentives for operators' compliance with the proposed 
guidelines effective? \7\ If not, please describe (a) whether and how 
the incentives could be modified to satisfy the Rule's requirements, 
and (b) the costs and benefits of those modifications.
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    \7\ See 16 CFR 312.11(b)(3); 78 FR at 4013.
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    5. Do the proposed guidelines provide adequate means for resolving 
consumer complaints? If not, please describe (a) whether and how the 
dispute resolution process could be modified to resolve consumer 
complaints adequately, and (b) the costs and benefits of those 
modifications.
    6. Does kidSAFE have the capability to run an effective safe harbor 
program? Specifically, can kidSAFE effectively conduct initial and 
continuing assessments of operators' fitness for membership in its 
program in light of its business model and technological capabilities 
and mechanisms? \8\ If not, please describe (a) whether and how the 
program could be modified to ensure that kidSAFE could run it 
effectively, and (b) the costs and benefits of those modifications.
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    \8\ See 16 CFR 312.11(c)(1).
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Section C. Invitation To Comment

    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 18, 
2013. Write ``kidSAFE Application for Safe Harbor, Project No. P-
135418'' on your comment. Your comment--including your name and your 
state--will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, 
including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web 
site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of

[[Page 57320]]

discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact 
information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web 
site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment doesn't include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, don't 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as discussed in Section 
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, don't include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\9\ Your comment will be kept confidential only 
if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your 
request in accordance with the law and the public interest.
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    \9\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/coppakidsafeapp, by following the instructions on the web-based 
form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you 
also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``kidSAFE Application for 
Safe Harbor, Project No. P-135418'' on your comment and on the 
envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex E), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your 
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before October 18, 2013. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-22638 Filed 9-17-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P