Corp., a firm that brings online advertising into schools. In letters being sent Wednesday to governors and state legislators, the group calls for new state laws mandating parental approval. Federal law prohibits online gathering of identifying information about children under 13 years of age without parental consent, but many students exposed to ZapMe are older than that. Only broad demographic information' ZapMe Chief Executive Rick Inatome said the company doesn't furnish data on individual students to advertisers, only broad demographic information. ZapMe sponsors can solicit names and other personal data from students while at school, but that isn't any different from other Web advertisers, he said.
Schools collect the ages, genders and ZIP codes of student users.
The schools also agree to distribute take-home material to students at least three times a year, such as sponsors' advertising, or contests and promotions. Last year, California adopted a statute aimed at ZapMe, which prohibited school districts from allowing electronic advertising in classrooms without a public hearing and parental notification. If ZapMe's confidentiality policy changes, or the information leaks, Catlett said, students' privacy could be invaded. ZapMe went public in October and has a history of losses. But it is growing rapidly.