Privacy: Protecting Your Kids Online

If there is anything more serious than protecting your privacy and protecting yourself from scams, it’s ensuring that your children are protected as well. In the ever-expanding online world, it can feel overwhelming to try and protect your child’s privacy, without feeling like you have to stand over their shoulder and watch everything they’re doing. Fortunately, there is a law designed to help you: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).  While it can’t replace parental involvement, it offers some tools to protect kids online.

The law is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, and requires websites to get parental consent before collecting or sharing information from children who are under 13 years old.

The first step is to check out the sites your kids are visiting. If a site requires a user to register, check out what information they want and if you’re comfortable with your child providing that information. Sites are also required to clearly post their privacy policy.  Read it over and make sure that the site has limits on who can see private data. Just because a site has a privacy policy doesn’t mean it’s a good one. If you have questions, the privacy policy should have clearly posted contact information for someone who can help you.

The policy is required to provide details about what kind of information the site collects and what it might do with the information — for example, if it plans to use the information to target advertising to your kids or to give the information to other companies. The policy also should state whether those other companies have agreed to keep the information safe and confidential.

As the parent, you also have a right to see any personal information a site has collected about your child. If you ask to see the information, website operators will need to make sure you really are the parent. You also have the right to retract your consent, and have any information collected about your child deleted.

If you think a site has collected information from your kids or marketed to them in a way that violates the law, report it to the FTC at www.ftc.gov/complaint.

It’s also important that as your kids begin socializing online that you have an honest, open conversation with them about inappropriate conduct online, avoiding contact with online predators and bullies, and inappropriate content. Be sure to talk early and often, be patient, and communicate your values to help your child make thoughtful decisions when they face situations good judgment online.

Beyond these, most smartphones, tablets, computers, and video game consoles have parental controls to keep children from accessing inappropriate content or socializing with strangers. Consider using these as you build trust with your child’s conduct online.

For more information, please visit http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0031-kids’-privacy and http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0006-talk-your-kids. As always, I welcome comments on this issue, either by posting below, emailing me at Rep.Joe.Atkins@house.mn, taking my survey at www.facebook.com/State.Rep.Joe.Atkins, or by giving me a call at the Capitol at 296-4192.