New York, NY - April 10, 2002 Because Pink Panther Music representatives declined to cooperate with the Children's Advertising Review Unit's (CARU) voluntary system and modify their Website to comport with the CARU's Self Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising, CARU will refer the Pinkspage Website case to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in accordance with CARU's Procedures. This referral will allow the FTC to determine if the website is also in violation of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which in many respects borrows from CARU's Guidelines. Under COPPA, the FTC has available to it a range of sanctions, including civil penalties of $11,000 per violation. A CARU referral of a similar matter recently resulted in a $30,000 penalty.

CARU was prompted to visit the Pink fansite, www.pinkspage.com because of the artist's appeal to teens and tweens. Pinkspage is the official Website for the artist Pink. The Website offers the singer's music, videos, along with Pink-themed merchandise and photos. Visitors to the Website can also join the Pink Fan Club.

While reviewing the Pinkspage Website, CARU was unable to find a privacy statement, as required CARU's Guidelines and the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which specify that links to this policy be prominently placed both on the Website's home page and wherever information is collected. In addition CARU was concerned regarding the Website's lack of effective age screening during its registration process. It is currently possible for a visitor of any age to submit personally identifiable information such as an email and street address at the "Fan Club" registration.

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.