Patent ID: 8762229

Claim:
A computer implemented method for enforcing a parental policy for online purchases, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, by a computer, a single parental policy indicating items prohibited for a child, said received single policy being automatically applicable to attempts to facilitate electronic purchases from any source, using a single wish list, by any party, for the benefit of the child; receiving, by a computer, multiple attempts to facilitate individual purchases from multiple ones of a plurality of online merchants, using the single wish list, for the benefit of the child; for each attempt to facilitate an individual purchase, 1) determining, by a computer, whether the purchase is permitted according to the policy, and 2) automatically affecting, by a computer, the attempt to facilitate the purchase responsive to results of the determining step; and in response to determining that a specific attempt to facilitate an individual purchase of a specific item is not permitted according to the policy, 1) blocking the addition of the item to the wish list, and 2) transmitting a communication to the parent indicating that an unsuccessful attempt was made to add the item to the wish list.