New York, NY - January 3, 2001 - The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. is pleased to announce that Sweet16 Intermedia, Inc. has made modifications to its Website, www.sweet16.com in order to bring the Website into compliance with CARU’s Guidelines for Interactive Electronic Media as well as the federally mandated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Sweet16 Intermedia is a media network that offers Sweet16 Magazine and the Sweet16 Website to a teen/tween audience. The Sweet16 Website offers activities like chat, newsletters, message boards and ecommerce. In October of 2000 CARU reviewed the Sweet 16 Website (www.sweet16.com) and found several infractions of its Guidelines as well as of COPPA. The over-riding issues of this case were the implementation of effective age-screening and verifiable parental consent as required by the Guidelines and COPPA.

The Sweet16 Website permitted visitors that identified themselves as under 13 to register for chat rooms, newsletters and message boards without having obtained prior parental consent. This practice was in violation of both the Guidelines and COPPA. In addition, CARU found that the Website lacked an effective parental consent mechanism although its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy indicated otherwise.

In response to CARU’s concerns Sweet16 refined its privacy procedures and registration process and in particular, the process by which Sweet16 obtained parental consent. Sweet16 Intermedia will more clearly explain how parents can change or delete their child’s information and how to decline the receiving of information from third parties. The new registration system is currently in place and functional.

CARU’s inquiry was conducted under NAD/NARB/CARU Procedures for Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising and resolved within 60 business days. Details of the inquiry, CARU’s decision and the advertiser’s response will be included in the next NAD Case Report. Members of the press who wish to see a copy of the decision now should email CARU at elascoutx@caru.bbb.org.