Children, Privacy and the InternetWhy do we need special protection for children?1. Children are using technology with increasing frequency2. Use begins at an early age3. Children are an attractive segment for marketersSlide 6Commercial websites collect personal information from childrenSlide 8Some of the information might have serious consequences for financial and personal securitySlide 10Industry self-regulation did not workSlide 12Slide 13Who is covered by COPPA?What are the requirements of COPPA?Slide 16What determines whether a website is directed to children?Why does COPPA apply only to children under 13? What about the privacy of teens?Will COPPA keep children from accessing pornography?Do websites set up and run abroad have to comply with the Rule?FTC enforcement of COPPA2001 compliance surveyEducation and warningsFTC legal actions under COPPASlide 25Slide 26Children, Privacy and the InternetWhy do we need special protection for children?1. Children are using technology with increasing frequencyAccording to a 2001 study by the U.S. Department of Education90% of children and adolescents ages 5-17 use computers (47 million)59% of children and adolescents ages 5-17 use the internet (31 million)2. Use begins at an early age25% of five-year-olds use the internetBy age nine, usage increases to 50%At ages 15-17, usage is over 75%3. Children are an attractive segment for marketersChildren spend billions of dollars a year and influence the expenditure of billions moreIt is estimated that in 1997 children aged 4 though 12 spent $24.4 billion themselvesChildren aged 2 through 14 directly influenced spending by their parents of as much as $188 billionOne of the most attractive age groups is the “tweens”Approximately 8-12 years old30 million tweens in the US in 2003Double the number 10 years agoSpend $10 billion annuallyInfluence an additional $74 billion in family spendingMore than 50% of tweens use the internetCommercial websites collect personal information from childrenFTC survey of 212 commercial web sites in 1998 found that almost 90% of children’s sites collected personal informationMeans used to collect this information include:Registration pagesUser surveysOnline contestsElectronic pen pal programsGuest booksApplication formsChat roomsIn the real world, such information would ordinarily be solicited from young children only with parental involvementHowever, of the sites visited by the FTCOnly 23% even told children to seek parental permission before providing personal information7% said they would notify parents of their information practices1% obtained parental permission prior to collecting such informationSome of the information might have serious consequences for financial and personal securityOne child-directed site identified by the FTC asked for the following information:Full name, postal address, e-mail, gender, and ageWhether the child had received gifts in the form of stocks, cash, savings bonds, mutual funds, or CDsWho had given these giftsWhether the child had purchased mutual funds, stocks or bonds with monetary giftsWhether the child’s parents owned mutual fundsChildren surfing the internet have experienced problems such asAttempted password theftInappropriate advances by adults in children’s chat roomsAccording to the FBI, online services and bulletin boards are becoming the most prevalent sources used by pedophiles and other sexual predators to identify contact childrenIndustry self-regulation did not workIn 1997, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the BBB developed guidelines addressing online collection of personal information from childrenThe Direct Marketing Association (DMA) proposed guidelines urging web sites to provide notice to parents and obtain parental consent before collecting and using children’s personal informationHowever, the FTC’s survey indicated that the vast majority of child-oriented commercial sites did not implement these protectionsFTC brought its first case internet privacy case against GeoCities, one of the most popular sites on the webFTC charged that Geocities had1. Disclosed identifying information collected via its member registration application to third parties who used it to target members, including children, for solicitations beyond those that members had agreed to receive2. Promoted children’s activities that solicited personal identifying information from children in a manner that suggested that it was collecting the information, when in fact the information was going directly to third partiesFTC concluded that passage of a comprehensive statute was preferable to bringing individual casesSupported COPPA because it places parents in control of the online collection and use of personal information from their childrenWho is covered by COPPA?COPPA applies tooperators of commercial websites and online services directed to children under 13 that collect personal information from childrenoperators of general audience sites with actual knowledge that they are collecting information from children under 13What are the requirements of COPPA?1. post clear and comprehensive Privacy Policies on the website describing their information practices for personal information2. provide notice to parents, and with limited exceptions, obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children3. give parents the choice to consent to the operator's collection and use of a child's information while prohibiting the operator from disclosing that information to third parties4. provide parents access to their child's personal information to review and/or have it deleted5. give parents the opportunity to prevent further collection or use of the information6. maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of information they collect from childrenThe Rule also prohibits operators from conditioning a child's participation in an online activity on the child's providing more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in that activityWhat determines whether a website is directed to children?The FTC considers a number of factors:subject matterlanguageuse of animated characterswhether advertising appearing on the site is directed to childrenempirical evidence regarding the ages of the site's visitorsWhy does
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