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To: H James Morris who wrote (13469)	8/13/1998 2:47:00 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Oh no! Do you guys think that I should sell already? What do you think they where gathering from little children? <Washington, Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- GeoCities settled federal charges it used its popular Internet web sites to collect personal information from people, especially children under the age of 13. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the Santa Monica, California-based company agreed to post a privacy notice on its Internet sites telling consumers what information is being collected and for what purpose it will be used. GeoCities also agreed to obtain parental consent before gathering information from children. This marks the first settlement reached in the area of children's privacy -- a priority for the five-member commission that enforces federal consumer-protection and antitrust laws. ''This case is a message to all Internet marketers that statements about their information collection practices must be accurate and complete,'' said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. GeoCities, which sold stock to the public this week, disclosed the agreement with the FTC in a June filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its shares have more than doubled since they were first sold at 17 each. The stock fell 3 1/2 to 42 in midday trading. GeoCities is in the business of setting up host groups on Internet Web sites, such as Capital Hill for politics, where web surfers with similar interests can set up their own Web pages for free and visit related ones. It refers to its more than 2 million users as ''homesteaders,'' a reference to the Homestead Act of 1862 that gave free land to pioneers. Its home web site was the third most-visited on the Internet among home users in June, according to the company's filing with the SEC. GeoCities makes money by selling advertising space. The company's revenue totaled $4.6 million in 1997, up from $314,000 the year before. >