Senators: Hands Off Kids' Data 

Two lawmakers introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate Wednesday to prohibit corporations from selling the personal information of children under the age of 16 without their parents' consent.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) introduced the Children's Listbroker Privacy Act to limit the sale of personally identifiable information for purposes of marketing to children, as part of a larger package of legislation intended to help parents combat commercial attacks on their children.

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Companies spend about $12 billion annually on marketing aimed at children, often using targeted lists from brokers who sell data not only on teens but on preschoolers as well. The lists can include a child's name, address, age, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sports activities, hobbies and family income level.

The legislation would make it illegal for organizations like Student Marketing Group and American Student List to sell, buy or lease personal information about anyone known to be 16 or under without the parent's consent. It would also prohibit list purchasers from using any data obtained about a child for marketing purposes without parental permission.

Wyden said the bill is particularly important because children are more vulnerable to manipulation and deception in marketing pitches than adults.

"The wholesale trafficking in specific information about individual children is something that I think most parents would find troubling -- I know I certainly do," said Wyden in a statement.

While two other federal laws in the package currently place some restrictions on the collection and distribution of children's information, their scope is limited, said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act covers only the online collection of data for those 13 and younger. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prohibits the disclosure of information from children's school records.

"The commercial assault on our nations' children is intensifying," Ruskin said. "Many large companies see childhood as a commercial free-fire zone. But some things shouldn't be for sale, and our children's personal information is one of them."

No number has been assigned to the bill yet, but it is expected to go to the Senate commerce committee.

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More stories written by Kim Zetter