New York, N.Y. September 13, 2001- The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB) is pleased to announce that Mighty Media has made modifications to its Websites, www.mightymedia.com and www.teaching.com, by including a more comprehensive privacy policy and parental consent notice and implementing an effective age screening at points of information collection or potential information disclosure.

During routine monitoring of mightymedia.com, CARU observed that the Website was not in compliance with the CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising or the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 ("COPPA"). CARU's overriding concerns with the Website were the lack of a parental consent mechanism in an area in which children under 13 years of age could disclose personally identifiable information , the privacy policy and parental consent form were not as comprehensive as required by CARU's Guidelines and COPPA, the extensive information collection from registrants under the age of 13.

Mighty Media worked with CARU to address privacy concerns and to insure that its Websites meet or exceed CARU's Guidelines and the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.

CARU's inquiry was conducted under NAD/NARB/CARU Procedures for Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the inquiry, CARU's decision and the advertiser's response will be included in the next NAD/CARU Case Report. Members of the press who wish to see a copy of the decision now should email CARU.

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The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB's National Advertising Division (NAD), The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).

NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children's advertising industry, while NAD/NARB's sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.