Amazon Associates Prohibits Advertising on Websites Directed at Kids

I received an interesting email from Amazon Associates, dealing with advertising on websites directed at children.  Websites directed at children under 13 may not display Amazon Associates links and advertising. Advertisers must declare that their websites are not directed at children under 13.  Failing to make such a declaration will result initially in withholding of payments, and eventually in accounts being shut down.  Here’s the text of the email:

Thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program. We’re reaching out to remind you that sites targeted at children under 13 are not eligible to display links and advertising from the Amazon Associates program. To continue your participation in the Amazon Associates program, you need to declare that none of your sites are directed at children under 13.

Important Dates:

August 31, 2015 – We will begin to withhold advertising fee payments to accounts that have not completed their declaration.

October 31, 2015 – We will close accounts that have not completed their declaration.

To complete the declaration:

1. Sign in to your Associates Central account at: https://affiliate-program.amazon.com

2. Click on “Account Settings”, then click on “Edit your website list”

3. Ensure ‘Your website list’ is accurate – by adding new websites or removing existing ones from the list.

4. Click on “Next” and complete the declaration process.

I followed each of the above steps, and then clicked through that my website is not directed to readership under 13 years of age.  I was then asked to confirm the following:

Are any of the sites listed above directed primarily at children under 13? These sites are not eligible to display banners, widgets, special links, or other ads from Amazon Associates. You are required to declare this information. 

Yes No

Why should I declare the websites in my site list that are directed primarily at children under 13?
Websites that are directed primarily at children under 13 are not eligible to participate in the Amazon Associates program. This is because of restrictions on advertising found in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and in related regulations. If you are uncertain whether a site is directed primarily at children under 13 (as defined by COPPA), please refer to the FTC guidance on COPPA, which can be found here. I run a general audience website, not a child-directed website. Can I show banners, widgets, special links, or other ads from Amazon Associates to all of my users?
You may not show banners, widgets, special links, or other ads from Amazon Associates to users you know are under 13, even on a website that is not child-directed. For example, if you ask a user for their age and they indicate they are under 13, you may not show banners, widgets, special links, or other ads from Amazon Associates to them. This is because of restrictions on advertising found in COPPA and in related regulations. If you are uncertain about how COPPA applies to you, please refer to the FTC guidance on COPPA, which can be found here.