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HeatherStevensonFirstPaper 25 - 20 May 2010 - Main.HeatherStevenson
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| | | -- By HeatherStevenson - 11 Nov 2009
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION | >
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Revised Version | | | The Perceived Problem | | | Though the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act protects children under 13, it does not cover minors ages 13 to 17. Under COPPA, websites may not collect "personal information," including "hobbies, interests and information collected through cookies or other types of tracking mechanism" about children under 13 without parental consent. However, the five years during which a child is minor but not protected by COPPA provide ample time for him to share information over which he may later regret having lost control. Though 18 may seem like an arbitrary age, it is the age at which the U.S. as a society and political community treats people as adults in other important ways (such as allowing them to vote, treating them as adults in the criminal justice system, and requiring jury service, to name a few). | |
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> | One Potential Solution
The easiest solution to these Facebook related privacy problems is simple - get off of Facebook (or at least restrict younger users). However, given that millions of users continue to voluntarily share personal information with Facebook, both directly and through third-party applications, another solution is necessary, I would propose extending COPPA to protect users up to 18 years old. If we believe that minors under 18 are not mature enough to make decisions such as whom to vote for, marry without parental permission or go to war, perhaps we should similarly protect their privacy. While a child under 13 might arguably be developmentally unable to make decisions about privacy, many 15 or 16 year old probably are developmentally ready. However, the years between 13 and 18 can be used to teach children about making decisions about their personal information. Those buffer years can provide time for learning with reduced risks for the future, so that by the time children become adults, they are ready to make educated decisions about what information to make public and what to keep to themselves.
| | | I'm not sure why "being a minor" is the relevant
category here. From 0-13, one set of rules, from 13-18 another, and
then "adulthood"? Seems to me the questions are, when can one teach | | |
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< | One Potential Solution
The easiest solution to these Facebook related privacy problems is simple - get off of Facebook (or at least restrict younger users). However, given that millions of users continue to voluntarily share personal information with Facebook, both directly and through third-party applications, another solution is necessary. I would propose a legislative solution whereby Facebook is prohibited from directly providing information to or receiving information from other websites about its minor users, including those age 13 to 17. Users under 18 should not be able to waive this right by allowing Facebook and other companies to share their information directly (though nothing is to stop users from posting similar information directly into their profiles). By preventing the sharing of user-generated personal information between Facebook and other companies, this legislation could protect users from giving away more than they mean to - which happens when small pieces of information combine over the course of years to create a bigger, clearer picture that is greater than the sum of its parts. Of course such legislation would face challenges: users might find build applications that circumvent Facebook controls, the legislation might not be popular because it's seen as impeding free speech or business development, or, perhaps most significantly, the legislation might fail because from a practical point of view, websites have limited abilities to identify users' true ages. However, such legislation would at least slow the speed at which Facebook youngest users' privacy is completely eroded, possibly providing them with enough time to realize how much they might ultimately lose by sharing personal information. | >
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