• by January 2, 2009

Gee, we could have saved them [Sony BMG] the trouble for a tenth of the settlement cost.

The rules of marketing to kids have been in place since Soupy Sales asked kids to go to Mommy's purse and send $1 to Uncle Soupy.

But seriously, these protections exist for a reason. It's fairly obvious that children have online access, email and cell phones, but are not of legal age to enter into contractual agreements. [Sony's]is NOT an obscure oversight, it IS a major blunder and highly irresponsible practice. Guidelines are available at FTC, CTIA, MMA, 4A, W3C -- and following any of these would have avoided the problem. It calls into question marketing ethics and drags the online marketing industry through the mud. In my opinion, Sony BMG got a slap on the wrist.

Application and Web development needs to be respective of laws in place and industry guidelines of self-regulation to protect our children. Build these into your business rules and best practices and appoint stewardship within your organization to enforce compliance. It won't cost you a million dollars to do it, and you'll save your reputation.