The New York State Attorney General ’s office has announced the enforcement of a federal law making it illegal for adults to track the Internet viewing habits of children under 13 years old . COPPA mainly applies to websites that are "directed" at children under 13, but even sites with a general audience have to consider COPPA if they know (or should know) that they are collecting personal information from children like names and email addresses. After a two - year investigation , it was announced that Viacom , Mattel , Disney and Hasbro will pay a combined fine of $ 835,000 for failing to comply with the Children ’s Online Privacy Protection Act , requiring parental consent for marketing towards children .
The New York State Attorney General ’s office has announced the enforcement of a federal law making it illegal for adults to track the Internet viewing habits of children under 13 years old . After a two - year investigation , it was announced that Viacom , Mattel , Disney and Hasbro will pay a combined fine of $ 835,000 for failing to comply with the Children ’s Online Privacy Protection Act , requiring parental consent for marketing towards children .