In re Geocities

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

Factual Background
The FTC brought its first case involving Internet privacy issues against GeoCities, a popular website that collected personally identifying information from consumers who became members of the site. GeoCities' privacy policy stated that this information would be used only to provide members with advertisements and offers that they requested, and that certain information would not be released to anyone without the consumer's permission. Contrary to its stated policy, GeoCities permitted the information to be used for purposes such as target marketing by third parties.

Trial Court Proceedings
The FTC alleged that GeoCities misrepresented the purposes for which it collected the personal information from its customers, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. The FTC also alleged that GeoCities misrepresented that it collected and maintained personal information from children. In fact, a third party collected and maintained that information.

GeoCities settled the charges by agreeing to post a clear and prominent Privacy Notice on its website that describes what information is being collected and for what purpose, to whom it will be disclosed, and how consumers can access and remove the information. The settlement also prohibited GeoCities from, among other things, misrepresenting the purpose for which it collects or uses personal information from or about consumers.

GeoCities also was required to obtain parental consent before collecting information from children 12 or younger, and to delete any such information already collected unless it obtained affirmative parental consent to retain it.