[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15271-15272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06035]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 312

RIN 3084-AB20


Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule Safe Harbor Proposed 
Self-Regulatory Guidelines; iKeepSafe COPPA Safe Harbor Program 
Application

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).

ACTION: Notice announcing submission of proposed ``safe harbor'' 
guidelines and requesting public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission publishes this notice and request 
for public comment concerning proposed self-regulatory guidelines 
submitted by the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (``iKeepSafe''), under 
the safe harbor provision of the Children's Online Privacy Protection 
Rule.

DATES: Written comments must be received by April 21, 2014.

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 ``iKeepSafe Application 
for Safe Harbor, Project No. 145402'' on your comment, and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ikeepsafeapp 
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 H), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristin Cohen, Attorney, (202) 326-
2276, Peder Magee, Attorney, (202) 326-3538, or Miry Kim, Attorney, 
(202) 326-3622, 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 3995-96, 4012-13.
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    Pursuant to Section 312.11 of the Rule, iKeepSafe has submitted 
proposed self-regulatory guidelines to the Commission for approval. The 
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

[[Page 15272]]

impact of the provision(s), including benefits and costs, if any, and 
(b) what alternatives, if any, iKeepSafe 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 iKeepSafe have the capability to run an effective safe 
harbor program? Specifically, can iKeepSafe 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 iKeepSafe 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 April 21, 2014. 
Write ``iKeepSafe Application for Safe Harbor, Project No. 145402'' 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 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 does not 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 does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is . . . privileged or confidential,'' as provided 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, do not 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/ikeepsafeapp, 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 ``iKeepSafe Application 
for Safe Harbor, Project No. 145402'' 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 H), 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 April 21, 2014. 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. 2014-06035 Filed 3-18-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P