What catalogers need to know about consumer privacy regulations.

By Reported Donna Loyle

Mrs. Fields Cookies was cited because, according to the FTC, portions of the merchant’s Web sites offered birthday clubs for children ages 12 and younger. Club kids were given birthday greetings and coupons for free products.

As noted in the FTC’s release on the case: “While Mrs. Fields did not disseminate the information it collected to third parties, the company allegedly collected personal information — including full name, home address, e-mail address and birth date — from more than 84,000 children, without first obtaining parental consent.”