New York, NY - June 7, 2000 - The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB) is pleased to announce that Talk City, a leading operator of online communities, has agreed to modify its Website in order to protect the privacy of children. When CARU first examined the site in 1999, Talk City, without obtaining prior parental consent, allowed children under 13 years of age to enter what was labeled as kid-directed online "chat rooms" where they could divulge personal information that would allow anyone (of any age) to contact them off-line, presenting a grave risk of harm. In that investigation, CARU found that children under 13 often revealed personal information such as email addresses, names and locations and could enter chat rooms where graphic sexual language was being used. Children entering Talk City chat rooms could be "whispered" into private chats where they were asked to engage in cybersex. Because the Web site refused to make changes, CARU referred that case to the FTC, which took no action against Talk City.

CARU again reviewed the Talk City site in early April 2000 and found the same problems that existed in the earlier investigation. Finally, after the April 21, 2000 effective date of COPPA, the date on which Talk City stated it would be in full compliance with COPPA, the current investigation was undertaken. Although CARU found that the site was not compliant with COPPA or the CARU Guidelines at the end of April 2000, in early May 2000, the company submitted to CARU a plan, along with a timetable, of how it intended to modify its Website and parental consent form, in order to bring them into compliance with both the CARU Guidelines and COPPA. The company asserted that it had made or was in the midst of making changes to its Website as follows:

1. A cookie is now placed on a visitor's name so that he/she cannot gain entry by merely changing his/her date of birth;
2. By the end of June 2000, parents will be informed (on the parental consent form and in the site's Privacy Policy) that consenting to the registration of a child under 13 years of age for KidzKorner, one is automatically consenting to participation of that child in unmoderated chat rooms that are inappropriate for children under 13, is also granting permission for the child to create his/her own homepage, on which he/she can post personal information, is allowing children to participate in unmoderated private chats, and is allowing the child to read and post personal information on bulletin boards, and therefore parents should carefully supervise their children's activities on line;
3. By the beginning of June 2000, the parental consent form will be revised to include all information required by COPPA and the CARU Guidelines;
4. The site no longer asks for street addresses of registrants;
5. It is impossible for one under the age of 13 to enter the KidzKorner chat room unless previously registered (with parental permission), or, if a guest, unless one is over 13 years of age.