In re GeoCities

Citation: In re GeoCities, Docket No. C-3849 (Feb. 12, 1999).

In 1998, GeoCities, operator of one of the most popular websites on the World Wide Web, agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it had misrepresented the purposes for which it was collecting personally identifying information from children and adults through its online membership application form and registration forms for children's activities. The settlement, which was made final in February 1999, prohibits GeoCities from misrepresenting the purposes for which it collects personally identifying information from or about consumers, including children. It also requires GeoCities to post a prominent privacy notice on its site, to establish a system to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children, and to offer individuals from whom it had previously collected personal information an opportunity to have that information deleted.