New York, NY—January 14, 2002---The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB) has concluded its investigation of www.agirllikeu.com, finding serious violations of CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising and the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). AgirllikeU is a Website which offers message boards, e-commerce, contests to a primarily teen/ tween girl audience. The Website's registration collects extensive personally identifiable information (PII) including email addresses and instant messenger screen names

According to both the Guidelines and COPPA, Websites must effectively screen for age and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting PII from those under 13 or allowing them to post or disclose such information. After the inquiry was concluded AgirllikeU did shut down its message boards, but in light of its refusal to implement an effective age-screening mechanism, CARU is referring the matter to the Federal Trade Commission.

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.