But commissioners say they aren' t sure swift action is necessary. The preliminary efforts of the DMA and the Interactive Services Association, which have drawn up guidelines for members, draw her praise. The FTC's mandate is straightforward. It protects consumers against unfair and deceptive business practices and encourages business competition under various antitrust measures. The FTC brings hundreds of lawsuits against shady operators each year as a result of its sweeping mandate.
Complaints keep rolling in.
The center blasted major corporations, including Kellogg Corp. and Frito-Lay Inc., for gathering information about children without first getting permission from parents. Kidscom, essentially an online market survey site, asks for detailed dossiers on children, including their names, ages, dates of birth, number of siblings and family makeup. Staffers there say sites that gather much beyond children's names and e-mail addresses may be in for an especially hard time. Of course they're tracking those kids. But the DMA's Wientzen is not sure it's an altogether bad practice.