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Safe & Responsible Computing |
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Privacy Online Websites often collect information about site visitors. This helps site operators better tailor
their offerings to their customers.
The information may be as invisible and innocuous as the ISP that you
are using or as broad as personal information about you. How do they get the personal information? They ask.
Any site that requires you to register or login to the site is
collecting and storing information about you.
Do you visit news sites where you can sign up or alerts to be emailed
to you? How about new product
offerings from your favorite online store?
What are they doing with that information? Before registering or signing up for anything read the site’s
privacy policy. Their privacy policy
is usually located on the home page.
If you don’t find it there check out their site map or perform a
search for “privacy.” If you still
can’t find it – email the webmaster and ask for it. As adults we are capable of reading and digesting this type of
information and making informed decisions about what information we want to
share. And as adults, it’s our
responsibility to stay on top of these issues with regards to our children. The 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
contained legislation specifically aimed protecting children’s privacy
online. Operators of sites targeted
towards children had to clearly state what information was being collected,
with whom it was being shared and required parental consent. Parents could view information that had
been collected and revoke consent. The Act was challenged in federal court and in the summer of
2004 the United States Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that blocked
enforcement of COPPA, essentially nullifying the Act. So, what can you do to guard your child’s privacy online? Ÿ
Talk to you children.
Let them know that you want to protect their privacy online. Be sure to explain what that means. Ÿ
Visit their favorite sites with them and see what information
is being collected. If you don’t like
what you see, explain your reasons to your child and block the site. Ÿ
Contact the site operators and tell them what you are
doing and why. This may encourage them
to reconsider their policies. |
