Topic: MEMBERS UNDER 13 YEARS OLD

[zhehanhaung1101231]

luckily im 14 a year older 

[Michelle]

I'm 13 years old!
So I Don't Need To Worry!

[CottonCandy:)]

yay im glad im 14

[number_1_fan]

dont they have a way of finding out if youre 13 or not?

[Admin]

most under 13, even if they lie and say their 13, slip up at some point on the forums, and we have to delete them till they are 13

[Seth Strickland]

i didn't know about that law (not really) I know there was something with that, but it never concerned me even when I started using the internet....I Guess you learn something new everyday. lol

[Admin]

its ok, alot of peoplke don't seem to know abou internet laws and regulations (because not all countries have them yet).
Those who do know about the coppa law, either ignore it, or interpret it wrong so they can try and do less work.

again, for those who've missed it, the law states that no one under 18 can send personal information to be collected without parental permission. Those under 13 must have permission kept on file in writing. The loopholes are mostly with sites that require subscriptions to join. Since you have to be over 18 to have a credit card in your name, it's automatically assumed you have the permission. If it's a stolen card, or the person iis lying about their age, that's purgery on their part and the website does not hold any liability for that as long as they fix the problem if they should learn of it. Like any newer law or regulation, it takes time to work the bugs out of it, but it's getting there.
There's actally alot more to the copa law, covering what can bediscussed topic wise, specific things certain ages can and can't be granted access to online, and how long certain age groups are permitted to be online and on a given website per day (which I dont see ever being enforced unless parents enforce it). It's a rather complex and long stated law with tons of subsections.. but the main purpose and focus is kids signing up as that requires emaila ddress, sometimes full name and location, or other info, which they aren't permitted to give out, as it makes it easier for predators to find them.

[Seth Strickland]

Yeah, I pretty much ignored it. But I pretty much ignore the end-user license agreements on software...but then, Microsoft gets mad if I put Vista on another computer and I had to stick with XP or pay another 399 or so for Ultimate .

[Admin]

Most people dont really worry about such things, especialyl where qa website is involved, butwhen you ahve a company that's insured and such, it's stupid to take chances with such things, as it'll cost you alot more in fines later on.

Another aspect is it comes with the advertising. There's guidelines with advertisers as well, and they will pull the ads off your site if those guidelines aren't met. With the ads on this site, such things include the coppa law, excessive foul language, anything beyond a mild R rating, and gambling. We're also restricted on alot of cour contests as there is a cash value to the prizes. If the prize is donated, it's upto whoever donates it, if it's given by a company, it goes by the companies policy and where they ahve rights to distribute and such. It gets quite confusing, luckily, I have a cousin and a friend who are CPA's and lawyers, and take care ofmsot of it for me. When you have a large site thats rather popular, there's more of a risk that some bigwigs will come down on you, unlike a tiny little site thats one of thousands in the mix. Since we also have to deal with media, images, and a namesake that's copyrighted, those copyrights and content, it raises the bar that much further.

on the bright side of it, even if we're never bothered (and we have been by a company already (cough19cough), at least by keepign it straight and narrow, we get alot of respect, and publishers like time/warner, among ohthers, send us free song books for Kelly's latest cd's, and thing sliek that, which we use for contest prizes. The seek out fansites and simular, and go over it with a finetoothed comb.. if they like what they see, they send ya stuff in return for you putting a link to go buying the stuff. People like the great folks at CMT (hard to believe it's an MTV network) gave us permission to use Kelly and Reba's crossroads any which way we want, as long as we dont have hq video or post the two songs cut from the airing. So in short, do the right thing for them, they do the right thing for you, and everyone is happy, no expensive lawsuits and headaches.

19's problem wasn't jsut this site, was the fan club as well.. there was no fan club when Kelly was with 19, the fan club went online when that contract expired and the firm stepped in.. right at midnight (was an interesting night).. 19 lost a money maker, but still had thankful and breakaway money, and they wren't gonna stop trying to squeeze every penny out of it all, liek any management would do, especialyl with Breakaway being such the hit album it was, and Idol still living off Kelly's name at the time (remember, this was the end of 2004/early 2005, Feb 1st 2005 the firm took over). so 19 was a royal pain the the rump about everything, including things like buying kelly dvd's and giving them away.. dont ask why, no one knows, they just were.
I wont get into more on that, but it's safe to say, if you sign with 19, get out of it as soon as you can, they lie about everything!

[JT]

I wont get into more on that, but it's safe to say, if you sign with 19, get out of it as soon as you can, they lie about everything!

Holy Crap!!! I'm glad we don't underwrite your insurance..LOL

[Admin]

nothing 19 can do, they ahve no claim to anything these days