aspdaddy - 9:29 pm on Sep 10, 2009 (gmt 0)

Nothing new here. In the UK "personal information" is that which can lead to the identity of an individual, and "personal sensitive information" is a higher category that includes the under 16's. Any site collecting this class of information is already bound by at least 2 laws that may require "verifiable parental consent" :

Where marketing to young people is involved – including via the Internet - a person under 18 could be expected to understand the implications of giving consent in suitable cases. A company in this area would need to consider if, for example, a 13-14 year old could be expected to understand the implications of giving consent to processing of their personal data in order to avail of a particular product or service. Otherwise, the consent of a parent or guardian should be obtained and suitable authentication measures adopted to make sure that such consent is genuine.

source [dataprotection.ie]

[edited by: httpwebwitch at 3:10 am (utc) on Sep. 12, 2009]
[edit reason] added citation [/edit]