Blue Barn Interactive Issues Best Practices Guidelines for Online Communities Attracting Children and Young Adults.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2001

Recent Studies, Violations of FTC Privacy Guidelines and

Subsequent Penalties Document Need for Increased

Moderation and Intervention

Blue Barn Interactive (BBI), a leading developer and manager of online communities, has issued a series of best practices guidelines for online communities that appeal to children and adolescents.

For these online community operators and businesses, BBI offers the following best practices guidelines, which can be found in their entirety at www.bluebarn.com:

-- Ensure that the registration process complies with COPPA (Children's Online
Privacy and Protection Act)

-- Provide clear, easy-to-read, easy-to-find Terms of Service (TOS) on the site


-- Offer a "notify host" button which empowers children to report problem
members.

-- Moderate every interaction; read every message board post, and moderate
every hour of chat.

-- Post safety tips regularly throughout the message boards and chat rooms.
(Dedicate an area that offers safety tips in simple, understandable language.)

-- Prohibit avenues for private, one-to-one interactions. (All member
interactions on a site that attracts children must be public and open for
active moderation.)

-- Implement and adhere to a one-strike policy. (First, clarify the actions
that represent a strike, and then let members know that it is one strike and
they are out.)

"Parental intervention only goes so far when it comes to child safety on the Internet, especially when this intervention is inconsistent," says Joshua Sinel, co-CEO of BBI, noting that children are the most active users of message boards, chat rooms, instant messaging and other online community-based functionalities. "Online communities must protect the privacy of users, young and old, and safeguard them from dangerous online encounters that compromise their well-being. When users are compromised, the business interests of the online community are at risk."

Sinel says that online communities and other entertainment media that appeal to children and adolescents must address growing criticism by government agencies and consumers, particularly those that depend upon sponsorship revenues. Nearly one year following the passage of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for protecting children's privacy on the Internet, many Web sites still do not comply with federal privacy legislation. As recently as April 2001, the FTC announced a series of settlements with Web sites that illegally collected children's personal data without parental permission. To settle the FTC charges, the companies were forced to pay a collective total of $100,000 in civil penalties for their violation of Children's Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) rules.

"BBI's experience in moderating multiple child and teen-focused online communities served as the basis for issuance of the best practice guidelines," adds Sinel, citing the company's successful track record with managing the teen community on America Online (AOL Keyword: Teens), as well as MTV.com (www.mtv.com) for the MTVi Group (http://www.mtvi.com). BBI also developed and moderated the community offerings of the Children's Television Workshop, which was recently re-launched as SesameWorkshop(TM) (http://www.sesameworkshop.org), a non-profit educational organization and creators of the Sesame Street television program.

According to a recent study conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, one in five children who go online regularly is approached by strangers for sex. Nineteen percent of those surveyed said they had received at least one sexual solicitation in the past year, and 3 percent of the students characterized the solicitation as aggressive. Only 10 percent of those solicitations were reported to the police, and a majority of children and parents surveyed said they did not know how to report an incident to authorities. Child solicitation, both online and offline, is illegal in all states, although consent laws differ. The New Hampshire study, Risk Factors for and Impact of Online Sexual Solicitation of Youth, used a telephone survey involving a national sample of 1,501 young people ages 10 to 17 from August 1999 to February 2000.

For more information on the role of BBI's best practices guidelines in safeguarding online communities, visit www.bluebarn.com

About Blue Barn Interactive

Blue Barn Interactive (BBI), a market-leading new media firm based in New York City's Silicon Alley, develops, moderates and manages customized online community solutions for entertainment, publishing, financial services, medical, and other organizations seeking to maximize the value of an online community presence. Founded in 1996, BBI helps clients achieve tangible business benefits from community initiatives, including planning and strategic services; technology integration and application development; data mining and business-critical reporting; and ongoing moderation and membership services. BBI clients include Showtime, BOLT.com, iPublish.com and Martha Stewart Living.

For more information about Blue Barn Interactive, call 212-807-8059 or visit on the Web at www.bluebarn.com.