Lions Gate Modifies Bratz Site After COPPA Violations

Lions Gate Entertainment has modified a Web site related to the popular Bratz dolls after violations were discovered of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

The Children’s Advertising Review Unit of the Council of Better Business Bureaus brought the violations to the company’s attention.

This Website, http://www.thebratzfilm.com featured clips from “Bratz: The Movie,” a registration page for a newsletter and sweepstakes, a viral component for users to send movie clips and an option to receive text messages from Lions Gate, CARU said.

CARU said the site violated COPPA and CARU guidelines on several fronts: Lions Gate collected personally identifiable information from children without first obtaining verifiable parental consent. In addition, the Web site did not feature a prominent privacy policy and the sweepstakes registration failed to disclose the odds of winning or a free method of entry, CARU said.

CARU recommended that Lions Gate make changes to the site to come into compliance. In response, Lions Gate modified the site by removing the registration forms for the newsletter, the sweepstakes, and mobile marketing activities. Lions Gate also included a comprehensive privacy policy and removed hyperlinks to Web sites that were in violation of CARU’s guidelines, CARU said.

Registration for the newsletter required full name, e-mail address, street address, phone number, age and gender. Children who said they were under 13 received a pop up warning that they were underage, but they could change their birth date and successfully register, CARU said.

Registration for the sweepstakes, which offered a chance to win a trip to the premiere of “The Bratz Movie” in Los Angeles, required a mobile phone number and zip code. There was no requirement for parental consent before entering a phone number, CARU said.