CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT OF 1998 (Title XIII of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental SEC. 1301. [15 U.S.C. 6501 note] SHORT TITLE. This title may be cited as the "Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998". SEC. 1302. [15 U.S.C. 6501] DEFINITIONS. In this title: (1) CHILD. The term "child" means an individual under the age of 13. (2) OPERATOR.-The term "operator" (A) means any person who operates a website located on the Internet or an online service and who collects or maintains personal information from or about the users of or visitors to such website or online service, or on whose behalf such information is collected or maintained, where such website or online service is operated for commercial purposes, including any person offering products or services for sale through that website or online service, involving commerce (i) among the several States or with 1 or more foreign nations; (ii) in any territory of the United States or in the District of Columbia, or between any such territory and (I) another such territory; or (II) any State or foreign nation; or (iii) between the District of Columbia and any State, territory, or foreign nation; but (B) does not include any nonprofit entity that would otherwise be exempt from coverage under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45). (3) COMMISSION.-The term "Commission" means the Federal Trade Commission. (4) DISCLOSURE.-The term "disclosure" means, with respect to personal information— (A) the release of personal information collected from a child in identifiable form by an operator for any purpose, except where such information is provided to a person other than the operator who provides support for the inter nal operations of the website and does not disclose or use that information for any other purpose; and (B) making personal information collected from a child by a website or online service directed to children or with actual knowledge that such information was collected from a child, publicly available in identifiable form, by any means including by a public posting, through the Internet, or through (i) a home page of a website; (ii) a pen pal service; (iii) an electronic mail service; (v) a chat room. (5) FEDERAL AGENCY.-The term "Federal agency" means an agency, as that term is defined in section 551(1) of title 5, United States Code. (6) INTERNET.-The term "Internet" means collectively the myriad of computer and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating software, which comprise the interconnected world-wide network of networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocols to such protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio. (7) PARENT.-The term "parent" includes a legal guardian. (8) PERSONAL INFORMATION.-The term "personal information" means individually identifiable information about an individual collected online, including (A) a first and last name; (B) a home or other physical address including street name and name of a city or town; (C) an e-mail address; (D) a telephone number; (E) a Social Security number; (F) any other identifier that the Commission determines permits the physical or online contacting of a specific individual; or (G) information concerning the child or the parents of that child that the website collects online from the child and combines with an identifier described in this paragraph. (9) VERIFIABLE PARENTAL CONSENT.-The term "verifiable parental consent" means any reasonable effort (taking into consideration available technology), including a request for au thorization for future collection, use, and disclosure described in the notice, to ensure that a parent of a child receives notice of the operator's personal information collection, use, and disclosure practices, and authorizes the collection, use, and disclosure, as applicable, of personal information and the subsequent use of that information before that information is collected from that child. (10) WEBSITE OR ONLINE SERVICE DIRECTED TO CHILDREN. (A) IN GENERAL.-The term "website or online service directed to children" means (i) a commercial website or online service that is targeted to children; or (ii) that portion of a commercial website or online service that is targeted to children. (B) LIMITATION.-A commercial website or online service, or a portion of a commercial website or online service, shall not be deemed directed to children solely for referring or linking to a commercial website or online service directed to children by using information location tools, including a directory, index, reference, pointer, or hypertext link. (11) PERSON.-The term "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other entity. (12) ONLINE CONTACT INFORMATION.-The term "online contact information" means an e-mail address or another substantially similar identifier that permits direct contact with a person online. SEC. 1303. [15 U.S.C. 6502] REGULATION OF UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES IN CONNECTION WITH THE COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM AND ABOUT CHILDREN ON THE INTERNET. (a) ACTS PROHIBITED. (1) IN GENERAL.-It is unlawful for an operator of a website or online service directed to children, or any operator that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child, to collect personal information from a child in a manner that violates the regulations prescribed under subsection (b). (2) DISCLOSURE TO PARENT PROTECTED.-Notwithstanding paragraph (1), neither an operator of such a website or online service nor the operator's agent shall be held to be liable under any Federal or State law for any disclosure made in good faith and following reasonable procedures in responding to a request for disclosure of personal information under subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii) to the parent of a child. (b) REGULATIONS. (1) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, regulations that (A) require the operator of any website or online service directed to children that collects personal information from children or the operator of a website or online service that has actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information from a child (i) to provide notice on the website of what information is collected from children by the operator, how the operator uses such information, and the operator's disclosure practices for such information; and (ii) to obtain verifiable parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from children; (B) require the operator to provide, upon request of a parent under this subparagraph whose child has provided |