Additionally, the Attorney General’s office determined that an AOL account manager in New York willfully violated COPPA to increase the company’s revenue.
AOL to adopt comprehensive reforms to protect children’s online privacy
The Attorney General’s office required AOL to adopt comprehensive reforms in its policies and procedures to protect children from improper tracking. Such reforms include the following:
- Establishing and maintaining a comprehensive COPPA compliance program;
- Annual COPPA training for relevant AOL personnel;
- Identification of risks that could result in AOL’s violation of COPPA;
- Design and implementation if reasonable controls to address the identified risks, and regular monitoring of the effectiveness of those controls;
- Development and us
- e of reasonable steps to select and retain service providers that can comply with COPPA
- Hiring an objective, third-party professional to assess its privacy controls
AOL also agreed to destroy all the personal information of children in its possession.
