§ 6501. — Definitions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC6501]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 91--CHILDREN'S ONLINE PRIVACY PROTECTION
Sec. 6501. Definitions
In this chapter:
(1) Child
The term ``child'' means an individual under the age of 13.
(2) Operator
The term ``operator''--
(A) means any person who operates a website located on the
Internet or an online service and who collects or maintains
personal information from or about the users of or visitors to
such website or online service, or on whose behalf such
information is collected or maintained, where such website or
online service is operated for commercial purposes, including
any person offering products or services for sale through that
website or online service, involving commerce--
(i) among the several States or with 1 or more foreign
nations;
(ii) in any territory of the United States or in the
District of Columbia, or between any such territory and--
(I) another such territory; or
(II) any State or foreign nation; or
(iii) between the District of Columbia and any State,
territory, or foreign nation; but
(B) does not include any nonprofit entity that would
otherwise be exempt from coverage under section 45 of this
title.
(3) Commission
The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.
(4) Disclosure
The term ``disclosure'' means, with respect to personal
information--
(A) the release of personal information collected from a
child in identifiable form by an operator for any purpose,
except where such information is provided to a person other than
the operator who provides support for the internal operations of
the website and does not disclose or use that information for
any other purpose; and
(B) making personal information collected from a child by a
website or online service directed to children or with actual
knowledge that such information was collected from a child,
publicly available in identifiable form, by any means including
by a public posting, through the Internet, or through--
(i) a home page of a website;
(ii) a pen pal service;
(iii) an electronic mail service;
(iv) a message board; or
(v) a chat room.
(5) Federal agency
The term ``Federal agency'' means an agency, as that term is
defined in section 551(1) of title 5.
(6) Internet
The term ``Internet'' means collectively the myriad of computer
and telecommunications facilities, including equipment and operating
software, which comprise the interconnected world-wide network of
networks that employ the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol, or any predecessor or successor protocols to such
protocol, to communicate information of all kinds by wire or radio.
(7) Parent
The term ``parent'' includes a legal guardian.
(8) Personal information
The term ``personal information'' means individually
identifiable information about an individual collected online,
including--
(A) a first and last name;
(B) a home or other physical address including street name
and name of a city or town;
(C) an e-mail address;
(D) a telephone number;
(E) a Social Security number;
(F) any other identifier that the Commission determines
permits the physical or online contacting of a specific
individual; or
(G) information concerning the child or the parents of that
child that the website collects online from the child and
combines with an identifier described in this paragraph.
(9) Verifiable parental consent
The term ``verifiable parental consent'' means any reasonable
effort (taking into consideration available technology), including a
request for authorization for future collection, use, and disclosure
described in the notice, to ensure that a parent of a child receives
notice of the operator's personal information collection, use, and
disclosure practices, and authorizes the collection, use, and
disclosure, as applicable, of personal information and the
subsequent use of that information before that information is
collected from that child.
(10) Website or online service directed to children
(A) In general
The term ``website or online service directed to children''
means--
(i) a commercial website or online service that is
targeted to children; or
(ii) that portion of a commercial website or online
service that is targeted to children.
(B) Limitation
A commercial website or online service, or a portion of a
commercial website or online service, shall not be deemed
directed to children solely for referring or linking to a
commercial website or online service directed to children by
using information location tools, including a directory, index,
reference, pointer, or hypertext link.
(11) Person
The term ``person'' means any individual, partnership,
corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other
entity.
(12) Online contact information
The term ``online contact information'' means an e-mail address
or another substantially similar identifier that permits direct
contact with a person online.
(Pub. L. 105-277, div. C, title XIII, Sec. 1302, Oct. 21, 1998, 112
Stat. 2681-728.)
Effective Date
Pub. L. 105-277, div. C, title XIII, Sec. 1308, Oct. 21, 1998, 112
Stat. 2681-735, provided that: ``Sections 1303(a), 1305, and 1306 of
this title [enacting sections 6502(a), 6504, and 6505 of this title]
take effect on the later of--
``(1) the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of
this Act [Oct. 21, 1998]; or
``(2) the date on which the Commission rules on the first
application filed for safe harbor treatment under section 1304
[enacting section 6503 of this title] if the Commission does not
rule on the first such application within one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, but in no case later than the date that is 30
months after the date of enactment of this Act.''
Short Title
Pub. L. 105-277, div. C, title XIII, Sec. 1301, Oct. 21, 1998, 112
Stat. 2681-728, provided that: ``This title [enacting this chapter] may
be cited as the `Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998'.''
