• FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendment to Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) Rule
• FTC Postpones Effective Date of Can-Spam Rule
• FCC Proposes Redefinition of Commercial Matter in Children's Programming
• Representative Bono Reintroduces Spyware Bill
• *CSPI Calls for Food Advertising Restrictions

FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendment to Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) Rule The Federal Trade Commission is seeking comment on a proposal to make permanent a "sliding scale" approach for obtaining parental consent by online services that collect children's personal information. Methods of achieving consent are dependent on the potential uses of the information. All operators are required to obtain parental consent before collecting information, but operators that will share the information with third parties are required to use more reliable methods of consent than those who will use the information for internal purposes only. The Commission initially adopted the "sliding scale" in anticipation of technological advances in obtaining reliable parental consent. The Commission believes the advances have not occurred and so has proposed that the sliding scale approach be made permanent.

FTC Postpones Effective Date of Can-Spam RuleThe Federal Trade Commission has postponed the effective date of rules determining whether the primary purpose of an e-mail message is commercial. The rules were required by the Can-Spam Act to limit commercial e-mail. The delay was necessary because the Office of Management and Budget determined that the provisions were a "major rule" which under the law cannot take effect until at least 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register and submitted to Congress. The new effective date for the primary purpose rule is March 28, 2005. The text of the Federal Register notice on the rule can be found at www.ftc.gov/os/2005/01/050112canspamfrn.pdf

FCC Proposes Redefinition of Commercial Matter in Children's Programming The Federal Communications Commission has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for children's television obligations for digital broadcasters that revises some aspects of the rules for all broadcasters and cable operators. The Commission proposes to revise the definition of "commercial matter" to include promotions of television programs or video programming services other than children's educational and informational programming. This would compel broadcasters and cable operators to either reduce the amount of program promotions or available time for advertising. The proposed rules also impose limitations on the use of Web site URLs that are transmitted along with programming material, and in some cases, commercial matter. The proposed rule can be found at

Representative Bono Reintroduces Spyware Bill Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA) has re-introduced her bill to protect computer users against Internet privacy invasion. The legislation overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives in the last session of Congress, but was not passed by the Senate in time to become law. The bill protects individuals from unknowingly downloading spyware by requiring that consumers receive a clear and conspicuous notice prior to downloading spyware. The bill also includes provisions to prohibit unfair or deceptive behavior such and keystroke logging, computer hijacking and the display of advertisements that cannot be closed. AAF is supportive of legislation that would criminalize and reduce the use of spyware for illegal purposes but remains concerned that overbroad legislation could curtail the use of legitimate adware delivering targeted ads to willing consumers.

CSPI Calls for Food Advertising Restrictions The Center for Science in the Public Interest has issued proposed food advertising "guidelines," which in reality would ban advertising for foods that do not have the radical group's approval. The guidelines would only allow foods that meet CSPI nutritional standards to be marketed to children. The guidelines are premised on the groundless allegation that advertising is a direct cause of obesity.

AAF Government Reports/ Related Sites E-mailed every five to 10 days during the congressional year, this e-newsletter provides a brief overview of advertising-related policy and legislative developments on the federal, state and local levels.