Justin Bieber, Rihanna Fan Club Sites Operator to Pay $1 Million in Privacy Settlement
The sites owned by Warner Music's Artist Arena were charged with illegally collecting personal data of users under the age of 13.
A unit of Warner Music Group that operates online fan club sites for such stars as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Rihanna has agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges that it illegally collected personal data from its users under the age of 13.
The unit, Artist Arena, didn't admit or deny any wrongdoing in the settlement, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Federal Trade Commission had filed charges against the firm on Tuesday, citing alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or Coppa. That law forbids web sites from collecting personal information from users under the age of 13 without parental consent.
The fan sites in question were BieberFever.com, SelenaGomez.com, RihannaNow.com and DemiLovatoFanClub.net. A judge has yet to approve the settlement.
In the proposed settlement, Artist Arena agreed not only to pay the $1 million civil penalty, but also to delete any data collected in violation of the law and to display a link on its sites to more FTC information on children's privacy protection rules.
Warner Music, owned by Len Blavatnik's Access Industries, acquired Artist Arena in late 2010. The FTC said the firm collected more than 100,000 users' personal data in ways prohibited by law.
Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai
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