New York, NY - April 17, 2002 - The Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. announced today that scan-command.com has agreed to make modifications to comply with CARU's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising. Scan-command.com, features online games that are designed to be played by children ages 8 and up.

The site agreed to cease collecting parents' offline contact information from children under 13 prior to obtaining parental consent, a practice that is not allowed under the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The site also agreed to implement one registration process (which entails parental notification and consent) for all visitors who seek to sign up as a "scan-command.com agent.," which, among other purposes, enables visitors to participate in a message board.

The new, neutral age registration process, which replaces a sign-up process that asked kids if they were "12 years old and under" or "13-17 years old," goes beyond the requirements of COPPA. "We are pleased that scan-command.com has taken the extra step on behalf of children online, stated Elizabeth Lascoutx, Director of CARU.

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.