Two years later, the online industry gave in. In the interim, the FTC had shown that industry promises notwithstanding, most children's sites were still gathering kids' personal information without their permission. Congress passed the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in a head-spinning three months. That, privacy champions say today, was a watershed. All the Silicon Valley masters of the universe who claimed Washington could never understand the technology and produce workable legislation have been proven flat wrong.
Industry says it, too, has a law it can live with.
It has been a challenge, but it is workable. The CME, meanwhile, has launched its own site on the topic, while the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has also dedicated a page to children's online privacy .