Miniclip S.A.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment
| Published date | 22 May 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 31187 |
| Record Number | 2020-11098 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Federal Trade Commission |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 100 (Friday, May 22, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 100 (Friday, May 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31187-31189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11098]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
[File No. 192 3129]
Miniclip S.A.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Proposed consent agreement; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or
practices. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both
the allegations in the complaint and the terms of the consent order--
embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle these allegations.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 22, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file comments online or on paper by
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the
[[Page 31188]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Miniclip S.A.; File
No. 192 3129'' on your comment, and file your comment online at https://www.regulations.gov by following the instructions on the web-based
form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to
the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex D),
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC
20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Mehm (202-326-2918), Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34,
notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement
containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with
and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been
placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The
following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the
consent agreement and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic
copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained
from the FTC Website (for May 19, 2020), at this web address: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before June 22, 2020.
Write ``Miniclip S.A.; File No. 192 3129'' on your comment. Your
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable,
on the https://www.regulations.gov website.
Due to the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19
outbreak and the agency's heightened security screening, postal mail
addressed to the Commission will be subject to delay. We strongly
encourage you to submit your comments online through the https://www.regulations.gov website.
If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write ``Miniclip S.A.;
File No. 192 3129'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your
comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of
the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex D),
Washington, DC 20580; or deliver your comment to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by
courier or overnight service.
Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible
website at https://www.regulations.gov, you are solely responsible for
making sure your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential
information. In particular, your comment should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social
Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment
should not include any ``trade secret or any commercial or financial
information which . . . is privileged or confidential''--as provided by
Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including in particular competitively sensitive
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and
must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from
the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept
confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has
been posted on the public FTC website--as legally required by FTC Rule
4.9(b)--we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Website,
unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel
grants that request.
Visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and
the news release describing the proposed settlement. The FTC Act and
other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of
public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate.
The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments
that it receives on or before June 22, 2020. For information on the
Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.
Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment
The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') has accepted, subject
to final approval, an agreement containing a consent order from
Miniclip S.A. (``Respondent''). The proposed consent order (``proposed
order'') has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for
receipt of comments from interested persons. Comments received during
this period will become part of the public record. After thirty (30)
days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments
received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement
and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's proposed
order.
Respondent develops, publishes, and distributes mobile and online
digital games. As of August 2019, Respondent had approximately 100
applications (``apps'') available for download through Apple's App
Store and Google Play. Consumers can also play online games via
Respondent's website, www.miniclip.com, and through Facebook.
This matter concerns alleged false or misleading representations
that Respondent made concerning its status in a Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (``COPPA'') safe harbor program.
Congress enacted COPPA to protect the safety and privacy of children
online by prohibiting the unauthorized or unnecessary collection of
children's personal information online by operators of Internet
Websites and online services. COPPA directed the Commission to
promulgate a rule implementing COPPA. The Commission promulgated the
COPPA Rule on November 3, 1999, and the COPPA Rule went into effect on
April 21, 2000. The Commission promulgated revisions to the Rule that
went into effect on July 1, 2013. COPPA includes a provision enabling
industry groups or others to submit for Commission approval self-
regulatory safe harbor programs that
[[Page 31189]]
implement the protections of the Commission's final Rule.
In 2001, the Commission approved the Children's Advertising Review
Unit (``CARU'') as a COPPA safe harbor program. In July 2009,
Respondent joined CARU's COPPA safe harbor program. Thereafter,
Respondent began disseminating statements regarding its participation
in CARU's COPPA safe harbor program. Respondent remained a member of
CARU's COPPA Safe Harbor Program until July 6, 2015, when CARU
terminated Respondent's participation in the program. After CARU
terminated Respondent from its safe harbor program, Respondent
continued to make claims that it participated in the program.
The Commission's proposed one-count complaint alleges that
Respondent violated Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Specifically, the proposed complaint alleges that Respondent engaged in
a deceptive act or practice by falsely representing that it was a
current participant in the CARU COPPA safe harbor program when it was
not.
Part I of the proposed order prohibits Respondent from making
misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security
program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or
standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the CARU
COPPA safe harbor.
Parts II through V of the proposed order are reporting and
compliance provisions. Part II requires acknowledgement of the order
and dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with
responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part III
ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status and
mandates that the company submit an initial compliance report to the
FTC. Part IV requires the company to create certain documents relating
to its compliance with the order for ten (10) years and to retain those
documents for a five-year period. Part V mandates that the company make
available to the FTC information or subsequent compliance reports, as
requested.
Part VI is a provision ``sun-setting'' the order after twenty (20)
years, with certain exceptions.
The purpose of this analysis is to aid public comment on the
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official
interpretation of the complaint or proposed order, or to modify in any
way the proposed order's terms.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-11098 Filed 5-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
