If little Johnny gives out his vitals while surfing on the Internet, that information couldn't be sold without consent from Johnny's parents, if a bill to be introduced into the House next week is passed.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Bob Franks (R-New Jersey), would punish with jail time and fines anyone who sells kids' personal information without their parents' consent, according to a recent draft of the bill. While the bill's intent is to target direct-marketing schemes, it can also be applied to online transactions.
Similar bills introduced last year by Franks and by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) raised concerns among privacy advocates about the individual rights of older minors to give out information without their parents' knowledge. Those bills stalled in committee during the final days of Congress' last session.
"If you're a 15-year-old kid getting information about contraceptives, you may feel that your rights have been violated not only if a company uses your information without your consent, but if they tell your parents about it," said Deirdre Mulligan, staff counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
As a result, the age at which parents can access information given out by their kids has been lowered from 16 to 12 years in this year's draft of the bill.
The Federal Trade Commission has also taken up the issue of the buying and selling of personal information on the Net. The commission recently released a report noting that children need greater protection from direct marketers because they are more likely to give out personal information than adults.
"The Internet makes it comparatively easy to collect information without any parental involvement or awareness," the report said. The FTC also found that it's especially easy to get kids to fill out online surveys by couching data-gathering as games or "diaries."
