It's Time to Increase Online Privacy of Children

It is still uncertain as to what will happen to the “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” that was proposed by the White House. Discussions and debates persist despite the urgency of the need to provide better online protection. Many children on the internet share data which could be turned around and used against them. This was the topic that music and TV personality Nick Cannon brought out when he appeared on Capitol Hill.

Working with some legislators, Cannon endorsed the Do Not Track Kids Act. The older Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 will be amended by this one. The new bill’s main aim is to increase online privacy for children. This defines the extent of the ability of websites, advertising agencies and cellular providers to use the personal information of children. The law will no longer allow them to use targeted ads for children and prohibit them from tracking minors.

Online devices such as smartphones and other gadgets that store information on young consumers can now be easily accessed. Without their parents giving consent, these children are in danger of those who are capable of taking advantage of them. They can be simply tracked on the internet and their whereabouts can be monitored without difficulty.

Unknowingly, all online activities of children leave digital footprints - their emails, the topics they search, or pictures they post. These are then gathered by big corporations and data marketers, to be used right away or years later. No parents would be happy if their son is denied a job because of an offending picture of himself that he posted on the net when he was still minor.

There are critics who say that the bill is very broad in scope, which makes it unenforceable. They added that it might be technically impossible and very costly for companies to comply with it. It would also damage the internet because some services would not continue because of liability issues.

As to giving more protection to children online, it is still not clear even now. There always seems to be a battle between those who advocate privacy and those who defend the lifeblood of the internet. The “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” is more “favored” because it offers wider user protection regardless of age. But the final result can only be seen when the two camps can come to a “win-win” situation.

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Do You Still Resist Facebook?

Looking at the staggering number of 800 million Facebook users, one can readily say that this social networking site is really becoming a household name. This is a cross-section of many kinds of users – according to age, profession, online preferences, or even purposes in joining. This internet giant has totally reshaped the lives of these users. Many of them could not let a day pass without sharing pictures, posting comments, visiting digital links, and much more.

This trend of having the social networking experience everywhere puts pressure on those who still refuse to join. Whether they are simply technophobes or privacy advocates, they are not spared from the attraction to conform to what others are doing. Finally, there were those who, for many years would not give up, but are now excited to be making “friends”. They say that they should have discovered the benefits of having a social network account years ago.

There are several reasons why some people reject Facebook. There are those who say that it is just a waste of time. Others reason that there are so many social networking sites out there and they are overwhelmed. They could not choose which one would give the best experience, so, the best thing to do then, according to them, is to ignore them all.

Of course, privacy is another reason why some would not join Facebook. With the ongoing issues about giving users better online protection through legislation, many would opt to stay “safe”. The reality is that there is an abundant presence of online predators and scammers. Others feel that being on Facebook strips off their privacy, giving the chance for online criminals to make them victims.

It was found that among the fastest growing number of Facebook users are older Americans. Further research revealed that most of them use Facebook to stay in touch with their children. However, there are also a large number of older Americans who are not comfortable with joining the social network. Considering that they did not grow up in the information age, they have biases against taking the advantages of the new communication medium.

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The Obama Privacy Plan Unveiled

The privacy plan of the Obama Administration has stirred issues among consumers and the public in general. This has also dragged the White House into the center of the debates. After the announcement of the plan last week, controversies over online privacy have once again heated up.

The said proposal aims to gather together different entities that are related to online activities in order to have them unite. It would start by calling on those internet companies, law enforcement agencies, privacy groups, and state attorney generals. To start, they are encouraged to set aside their personal interests and to collaborate. They will work for a common purpose – to come up with voluntary standards that would defend consumer data to the highest degree.

Some groups are afraid that the Obama privacy plan could intimidate the internet. According to privacy advocates, they are hoping that the plan will be a good one. Others are hopeful that the United States will soon have a privacy law; one that supports innovation and gives more user protection.

The framework of the proposed law consists of four parts. These are: the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, a multi-stakeholder process, an adequate enforcement model, and a commitment to strengthen interoperability.

The Bill of Rights framework also contains seven specific provisions. These are: individual control, transparency, respect for context, security, access and accuracy, focused collection, and accountability. With these, consumers can expect to have better control over data that they share online. The provisions of the multi-stakeholder process look into how companies can benefit from the privacy law. With the interoperability provisions included, other countries could possibly recognize and enforce the same law.

Expecting the possible consequences of the law, a researcher at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has expressed his concern. The first problem that he foresees is the hurt that it could inflict among companies. For a long time, behavioral advertising has proven to be one of the most effective methods of gaining profits. Part of the revenue derived from behavioral tracking and data aggregation is used to offer free internet services such as web-based email and social networking. For ordinary internet users, these are the services that they use every day. The probable effect of regulation is that these services would no longer be free.

Being more responsible over what they do online is what consumers should learn more about. Many privacy issues could be solved if consumers would clean their own footprints on the internet. In this part, the Obama administration should put more weight on defending consumers by first educating them. The government should not overlook this in its efforts to protect consumers.

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Internet Users Become More Aware of their Privacy

The picture of internet users is changing as they become more concerned about their privacy. To see how it is, researches and studies are being conducted by different entities. Once this is done, there will be a profile of how users view or feel about their social networking activities. Pew Internet & American Life Project participated in this endeavor and reported its findings. Among others, it said that social networking sites users are becoming more careful when accepting a friend. Unlike before, they are taking more time to find out which contents must be deleted on their pages.

Pew also discovered that two out of three of all internet users have active social networking accounts. In 2009, the figures revealed that more individuals decided to delete some “friends” from their lists. When compared by gender, more women than men did so. By age, more young people tend to do the same than older ones. These findings were gathered in a span of one year.

An Associated Press insider said that users have shifted from being passive to being more conscious about other people’s comments. There are an increasing number of users who deleted comments on their profiles. Pew also mentioned that a large number of users “untagged” themselves from photos that they find “unsafe”. This tends to show that they want to stay on the “safe” side, not like in the past.

The profile options of whether to make it “public” or “private” are also useful to users. Only twenty percent have set their profiles to public, while fifty-eight percent set theirs to private. With this, more users want their profiles to be viewed only by friends. It is expected that the percentage of users who find it difficult to manage their privacy will decrease. At present, 49% said that they can manage their privacy without any trouble. This means that more social networking users are placing stricter limits on their privacy.

For the Obama administration, improved and stronger privacy protection for users of social networking sites is needed. Considering that technology for tracking users is becoming more sophisticated, there is a need for control and regulation. If this is not done, this technology is a threat to the privacy concern of users.

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