One of the Internet's most popular sites has misled members about how it used their personal information, a federal agency said Thursday.

The case, the first enforcement action on Net privacy, involves GeoCities, an ad-supported "virtual community" sithe with over 2 million members. The company has agreed to settle charges it misrepresented its handling of data collected at registration, says the Federal Trade Commission

GeoCities' application for a free personal home page asks for data including name, address, income, marital status, occupation, and hobbies. "They said it would not be released to anyone," says the FTC's Toby Levin, but it was shared with other companies interested in target marketing.

The settlement, which will not take effect for at least 60 days, requires GeoCities to post a privacy policy spelling out how personal information is used, which the company already has done. It also requires parental consent before seeking information from kids under the age of 13.

Congress is considering new privacy laws; the industry is pushing for voluntary self-regulation.

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