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NY Settles With 4 Companies To Stop Tracking Children Online

New York's attorney general says he has reached settlements with Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro and Jumpstart Games stopping them from using tracking technology on their popular children's websites.

The settlements require Viacom, Mattel and Jumpstart to pay penalties totaling $835,000 following a two-year investigation into violations of the 1998 federal law that prohibits unauthorized collection of children's personal information on websites directed at users under 13.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says each allowed tracking technology such as cookies on their websites in violation of the law. Such technology can be used by marketers and advertisers.

Hasbro says it cooperated with investigators, will closely monitor companies working on its behalf and that it is rolling out a stricter online privacy protection policy.

The other companies didn't immediately reply to requests for comment.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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