Source: https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2003/02/mrsfieldscmp.htm
Timestamp: 2018-01-16 09:25:45
Document Index: 199230472

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 6501', '§ 41', 'art 312', '§ 1331', '§ 45', '§ 45', '§ 53', '§ 1391', '§ 312', '§ 6501', 'art 312', '§ 6502', '§ 553', '§ 57', '§ 45', '§ 6502', '§ 44', '§ 312', '§ 312', '§ 312', '§ 312', '§ 45', '§ 57', '§ 45', '§ 6502', '§ 45', '§ 45', '§ 45', '§ 2461', '§ 1', '§ 53', '§ 45']

Utah State Bar Number
MRS. FIELDS' ORIGINAL COOKIES, INC., corporations, Defendants.
1. Plaintiff brings this action under Sections 1303(c) and 1306(d) of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 ("COPPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506, 6502(c), and 6505(d), and Sections 5(a)(1), 5(m)(1)(A), 13(b), and 16(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ("FTC Act"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 41-58, 45(a)(1), 45(m)(1)(A), 53(b), and 56(a), to obtain monetary civil penalties, a permanent injunction, and other equitable relief for defendants' violations of the Commission's Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (the "Rule"), 16 C.F.R. Part 312.
2. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337(a), 1345, and 1355, and under 15 U.S.C. §§ 45(m)(1)(A), 53(b) and 56(a). This action arises under 15 U.S.C. §§ 45(a)(1) and 6502(c).
3. Venue in this District is proper under 15 U.S.C. § 53(b) and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)-(c) and 1395(a).
4. For purposes of this Complaint, the terms "child," "collects," "collection," "Commission," "delete," "disclosure," "Internet," "online contact information," "operator," "parent," "person," "personal information," "third party," "verifiable consent," and "website or online service directed to children," are defined as those terms are defined in Section 312.2 of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.2.
5. Congress enacted the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506, in 1998 to protect the safety and privacy of children online by prohibiting the unauthorized or unnecessary collection of children's personal information by Internet website operators. The Act directed the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate a rule implementing COPPA. The Commission promulgated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 312, on November 3, 1999, under Section 1303(b) of COPPA, 15 U.S.C. § 6502(b), and Section 553 of the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553. The Rule went into effect on April 21, 2000.
6. The Rule applies to any operator of a commercial website or online service directed to children that collects, uses, and/or discloses personal information from children, or to any operator that has actual knowledge that it is collecting or maintaining a child's personal information.
7. The Rule requires a subject website operator to meet specific requirements prior to collecting online, using, or disclosing personal information from children, including but not limited to:
a. Posting a privacy policy on its website providing clear, understandable, and complete notice of its information practices, including what information the website operator collects from children online, how it uses such information, its disclosure practices for such information, and other specifically required disclosures;
8. Pursuant to Section 18(d)(3) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a(d)(3), a violation of the Rule constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice, in violation of Section 5(a)(1) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1). See also COPPA, 15 U.S.C. § 6502(c).
11. The acts and practices of defendants alleged in this complaint have been in or affecting commerce, as "commerce" is defined in Section 4 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 44.
14. Children who want to register for the birthday clubs must provide personal information about themselves, including their first and last name, street address, email address, and date of birth, via an online form. (See Exhibits A, B, and C.) In addition, the "Mrs Fields Original Cookie Birthday Club" form asks for the child's telephone number. (See Exhibit A). In this manner, defendants have collected personal information from over 84,000 children. Defendants do not disseminate this information to third parties. Defendants use this information to send birthday club members a birthday greeting and coupon for a free cookie or pretzel.
15. Defendants do not notify or obtain verifiable consent from any parent or guardian prior to collecting children's personal information, as required by the Rule. Furthermore, defendants provide no means for parents to review or delete the information collected from their children, as required by the Rule.
Defendants' Privacy Policy
a. Failing to provide sufficient notice on their websites of what information they collect online from children, and all other required content, in violation of Section 312.4(b) of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.4(b);
b. Failing to provide notice to parents of what information they collect online from children, and all other required content, in violation of Section 312.4(c) of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.4(c);
c. Failing to obtain verifiable parental consent before any collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal information from children, in violation of Section 312.5 of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.5; and
d. Failing to provide a reasonable means for parents to review the personal information collected from their children and to refuse to permit its further use or maintenance, in violation of Section 312.6 of the Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 312.6.
20. Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), provides that "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are hereby declared unlawful."
21. Pursuant to Section 18(d)(3) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a(d)(3), a violation of the Rule constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of Section 5(a)(1) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1). See COPPA, 15 U.S.C. § 6502(c).
22. By and through the acts and practices described in Paragraph 19 above, defendants have violated Section 5(a)(1) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1).
23. Defendants have violated the Rule as described above with knowledge as set forth in Section 5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A).
25. Section 5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(m)(1)(A), as modified by Section 4 of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28 U.S.C. § 2461, and Section 1.98(d) of the FTC's Rules of Practice, 16 C.F.R. § 1.98(d), authorizes this Court to award monetary civil penalties of not more than $11,000 for each such violation of the Rule.
26. Under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 53(b), this Court is authorized to issue a permanent injunction against defendants' violation of the FTC Act, as well as such ancillary relief as may be just and proper.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff requests this Court, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. §§ 45(a)(1), 45(m)(1)(A), 53(b) and 57b, and the Court's own equitable powers to:
(415) 848-5100 FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: