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Don’t turn our National Parks into billboards
Update 1/9/17: Unfortunately, the NPS has ignored the voices of the public, and has quietly approved Director's Order 21, allowing greater corporate presence and influence in our National Parks. Read more > We need your help to stop an incursion of corporate marketing into a most unlikely place: our national parks. A proposal currently being considered by the National Park Service will remove rules requiring that parks remain free of commercialism. The new policies direct... Read more...
2016 School Bus Action Center
If someone offered you a dollar a year to advertise to your child, potentially putting your child’s safety in jeopardy, would you do it? Of course not. Yet that’s what many school districts are doing by placing ads on the exterior of their school buses. CCFC members have helped defeat legislation that would allow advertising on school buses in states around the country. Currently, only ten states—Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, and... Read more...
Stop McTeacher's Nights Action Center
What are McTeacher’s Nights? Events McDonald’s calls “McTeacher’s Nights” are part of a comprehensive marketing strategy McDonald’s has developed to target children wherever they are, including in schools. On McTeacher’s Nights, McDonald’s enlists teachers as brand ambassadors to sell the corporation’s junk food to students and students’ families. At the events, McDonald’s invites teachers and school administrators to “work” behind McDonald’s store counters, wear branded... Read more...
Your Baby Still Can't Read!
A few years ago, CCFC exposed a huckster named Robert Titzer, who falsely claimed that his video series could teach babies to read. Thanks to our work, the Federal Trade Commission ordered him to stop. It was a huge victory and a milestone in our ongoing campaign to support parents’ efforts to raise healthy babies by stopping the false and deceptive marketing of “educational” baby videos. Incredibly, Robert Titzer is at it again. He’s changed the name of his videos from “Your Baby Can Read” to... Read more...
2015 TOADY Awards
Vote for Worst Toy of the Year Each year, the Toy Industry Association gathers to present its TOTY (Toy Of The Year) Awards. In honor of the industry that has led the way in commercializing childhood, CCFC will present its TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children) Award for the Worst Toy of the Year. From thousands of toys that promote precocious sexuality to children and push branded and screen-based entertainment at the expense of children’s play, CCFC has selected six... Read more...
Hell No Barbie: 8 reasons to leave Hello Barbie on the shelf
This holiday season, Mattel hopes to make Hello Barbie, a doll that records and analyzes children’s private conversations, a must-have toy. But experts agree: it’s a threat to children’s privacy, wellbeing, and creativity. Here are 8 reasons not to buy Hello Barbie. Please help us spread the word about this terrible toy. If Hello Barbie is a hit, other eavesdropping toys are sure to follow. 1) Children’s private conversations shouldn’t be shared with corporations or strangers.... Read more...
Stop McTeacher's Nights
Mark Noltner couldn’t believe what his daughter was saying. At school that day, her teachers had worn McDonald’s shirts and encouraged the students to attend a school fundraiser at a local McDonald’s.“I was outraged,” said Mark. “It’s hard enough helping my daughter navigate the minefield of unhealthy marketing; the last thing she needs is her teachers hawking junk food. And as a teacher myself, it infuriates me that McDonald’s would compromise the sanctity of our classrooms and manipulate the... Read more...
Stand Up for Student Privacy
We’re at a crucial juncture in our efforts to protect student privacy. Fueled by accountability mandates and pressure to incorporate technology into classrooms, schools are increasingly moving their operational and educational functions to online vendors. A survey by Fordham’s Center on Law and Information Privacy found that “95 percent of schools rely on cloud services for a diverse range of functions,” including data hosting, planning bus routes, classroom instruction, and assessments. And... Read more...
Stop the Unfair Ads on YouTube Kids
If we don’t act now, Google could singlehandedly demolish long-standing rules that protect children from harmful commercialism. In February, Google launched the YouTube Kids app for preschoolers, a supposedly child-friendly version of its popular online video service. But YouTube Kids is no safe haven. Instead, it’s what noted media scholar Dale Kunkel calls, “the most hyper-commercialized media environment for children I have ever seen.” Research shows that young children have trouble... Read more...