According to the FTC, several Playdom sites that were aimed at young audiences illegally collected and then disclosed personal data in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). These sites included Pony Stars, 2 Moons, 9 Dragons, Age of Lore, and My DIva Doll. The FTC complaint says that some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars between 2006 and 2009 and another 403,000 signed up for Playdom's other online virtual worlds. These sites collected children's names, ages, and email addresses and allowed them to post that personal information publicly online -- including their real names and locations. The FTC charged that the company failed to get parents' consent before collecting or disclosing this information.

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that it was "pleased that Playdom and the FTC have now resolved this matter amicably."

The announcement of the settlement coincides with the introduction of legislation by Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that will update online protections for children. Indeed, the legislation that governs children's online privacy, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, was first passed in 1998. 1998 - that's eons ago in Internet years. A world pre-Playdom, pre-Facebook, and even pre-Google. (Well, the search engine was actually incorporated that year.)

The updated COPPA legistation, called the "Do Not Track Kids Online Act," would require online companies to explain the types of data that's collected as well as how it is to be used or disclosed. It would also update language to include mobile applications, and it would ban companies from using children and teens' personal data for targeted advertising.

The federal government is examining a number of new measures to protect consumers' privacy online, but no surprise, particular attention is being paid to the children's privacy online - not just on those sites like Disney's aimed at directly at those under 13, but at others such as Facebook that, despite Terms of Service rules that dictate otherwise, are full of children.

The site is basically an additional layer of screening for YouTube. Parents scan the YouTube movie database via a special scouting tool on Totlol. When they find a video that they think is good for children under 6 years old, they tag it, add a description, and submit it to the database. The video then enters a screening queue were other parents are asked to answer whether it is appropriate for the site and for which age group the video would be most enjoyed. The screening answers are analyzed algorithmically and only videos that parents collectively deem age appropriate are added to the sites library.

Videos are then played via the YouTube API with a Totlol skin on the player. So far, Totlol users have added just over 100 videos to the site, which only allows people over the age of 18 to join -- assuring that it shields itself from child protection laws by putting parents in complete control.

Totlol is a cool idea, and the only children's video site that we know of that relies on parental screening to decide which videos to add to its database (though please let us know if there are any others in the comments). With the number of computer savvy 6-year-olds on the rise, this site will probably be a hit among both parents and toddler alike.