This morning I was a reluctant participant in third grade show-and-tell. Usually the kids bring books about dinosaurs, or vacation souvenirs, but my daughter took advantage of a little known provision that allows the children to bring people. I felt a little like a snow globe, or maybe a sock monkey, on display.
We ended up having a great conversation about online privacy, which was made all the more interesting by the students relating their experiences firsthand.
My daughter proudly introduced me to the class by saying, "my dad wrote a book about work." I explained it was about social media (not a gripping topic for most nine-year-olds). Most of the kids knew about Facebook and YouTube. A few were familiar with Twitter.
In order to start up a conversation about privacy, I explained Foursquare, and how people "check in" at Starbucks, the movies, work, etc., but how parents should not check in at home, or at their children's school, karate studio, friend's house or any other location that divulged the schedule and location of their kids.
This opened a really interesting discussion about privacy, and the data collected by sites like Webkinz, Nick Jr., Poptropica, etc. One after the other, half a dozen students shared experiences with being online and being asked to provide their name, e-mail address, zip code, city, and in some cases, address. I emphasized that this information was nobody's business and should never be shared with strangers, whether on the computer or off.
These are eight- and nine-year-olds. Who is asking them for this information, and why? Online marketers are asking, because the youth market is huge. According to a report on NBC's Today Show last August, "Tweens (children 9-11) represent $43 billion in spending power"! It's no surprise marketers want our children's information.
There are some protections for children, though they are limited in effectiveness. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), effective April, 2000, outlines privacy requirements for websites that collect information from children under the age of thirteen, and mandates "verifiable parental consent" that must be verified by a confirmation e-mail or other means.
In practice, children can usually sign up for almost any site. They have to enter a parent's e-mail address for verification (like I want my e-mail address given out), but even then, they can often use the site in some capacity without the verification.
And do online marketers really think a statement like "You must be 13 years old to use this site" keeps underage users out? No. In fact they hope it doesn't.
The "answer" to the child privacy issue can only be found at home. Parents must educate their children and place technological controls in place, such as browser or desktop based privacy controls, and not allowing children unmonitored access to computers (including phones with browsers.)
Marketers looking to capture a slice of that $43 billion pie are just one source of attacks on the privacy of our children. Too much sharing on the Internet can also leave children vulnerable to sexual predators. It's a scary world out there. As parents, we are the only ones who can adequately protect our children.
Tags: children, online privacy, COPPA
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