Privacy invasions

Introduction / Commercial Web sites / Safety concerns /
Tips for parents

The ability to interact and communicate with others is one of the biggest attractions of the Internet for kids. Talking with people in chat rooms and instant messaging, playing games, entering contests and filling out surveys are all popular online activities. Unfortunately, most parents don't really understand 'interactivity' and how such activities can put their children's privacy at risk or even threaten their safety.

Privacy is the right to be free from outside intrusions and to have control over your own personal information. However, in today's electronic age, personal data is a valuable commodity. Protecting information about yourself, therefore, has become a skill that young people need to learn.

Children's privacy can be compromised in certain online activities. For example, their privacy can be at risk, when they:

• fill out forms and surveys and enter contests on commercial Web sites
  
  
• provide information when registering for Internet services or software (i.e. file-sharing, instant messaging, e-mail)
  
  
• complete a personal profile for an e-mail or instant messaging account
  
  
• create a profile on a social networking site such as Do You Look Good, Nexopia or Piczo
  
  
• give personal information to strangers in chat rooms or through instant messaging

Privacy and commercial Web sites

The Internet makes it easy to collect and store data from young people. Online marketers encourage kids to answer surveys, enter contests and fill out registration forms that include questions designed to obtain personal information. In Media Awareness Network's (MNet) 2005 study of young Canadians Internet use, 94% of kids' 50 favourite sites collect personal information through contest, surveys and forms. This information is often used to create extremely effective advertising campaigns that target not only children of certain ages, but also individual children.

In Canada, there are some industry guidelines that are designed to protect children's privacy. For example, the Canadian Marketing Association's (CMA) privacy guidelines include stipulations relating to the collection, transfer or request of personal information from children under the age of 13. These guidelines, however, are strictly voluntary.

The United States is ahead of Canada in protecting children's privacy on the Internet. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires commercial Web sites to provide clear notice of their information-gathering practices, and to obtain parental consent when asking for personal information from children under the age of 13. COPPA is significant for Canadians because most of the Web sites visited by Canadian children and teens are based in the United States. As well, many Canadian Web sites follow COPPA guidelines.

Even with the existence of COPPA, however, there is nothing to stop someone 13 or younger from pretending to be older when registering on a commercial Web site.

Safety concerns

Even reputable children's sites gather information about their visitors. Problems can occur when kids become accustomed to submitting information as a regular part of online play and don't stop to think about sharing personal information in what could be more risky online environments.

When kids sign up for instant messaging software, for example, they are asked if they would like to fill out a personal profile. The fields include their 'real' name and address as well as details about their personal life. Because these profiles are available to anyone on their contact list and young people commonly have upwards of 200 "acquaintances" on their lists, parents should be aware of what information their kids are posting in their profiles. Media Awareness Network's 2005 survey showed that 27 per cent of kids say they would give their real name and address in their instant messaging profile.

Children who use chat rooms are also at high risk of revealing personal information. The first question that is usually asked of someone entering a chat room is A/S/L? - meaning age, sex and location. If children reveal personal information to strangers they meet in chat rooms, this can lead to 'cyberstalking,' having pornography sent to them, or even being pressured to arrange a personal face-to-face meeting.

Tips for parents

Parents play an important role in teaching their kids the importance of protecting personal information while online.

• Teach your kids the value of their personal information - start when they are young. This is one of the biggest challenges parents face in today's electronic age.
  
  
• Teach your kids to protect their privacy on the Internet by not sharing personal details when using chat rooms, bulletin boards, instant messaging or visiting Web sites. This includes name, gender, age, home address, e-mail address, phone number, picture, credit card information or passwords.
  
  
• Lead young children to high-quality non-commercial sites for kids that are fun and educational. Ask other parents, teachers or librarians for their recommendations, or use reputable online directories of recommended children's sites.
  
  
• Read the privacy policies on the Web sites that your kids visit. Most responsible sites link to a privacy policy from their home page. Check to see if they also provide a link on pages where personal information is being asked for. Here's what to look for when you are reading a privacy policy:
  
  
  
  • What information is being collected or tracked, and how this information will be used. (It is especially important to understand whether it will be sold or transferred to a third party.)
    
    
  • Do parents have the ability to change or delete any data that has been collected about their children?
    
    
  • What steps are being taken to safeguard children's privacy when they participate in chat rooms, message boards and e-mail activities on the site.
  
  
• Create solid guidelines for your kids and teens if they shop online. Make sure that any site they use has provisions in place to ensure that transactions are safe and secure.
  
  
• Sit with your kids when they're registering for instant messaging or e-mail accounts to make sure they protect their personal information and do NOT fill in an online personal profile.
  
  
• Encourage your kids to use gender-neutral nicknames, so no one can tell whether they are male or female when communicating over the Internet.
  
  
• Choose chat rooms on children's sites that employ adult monitors, who restrict users from releasing any personal information. Some chat rooms offer users the option of going into private rooms or sharing private messages (PMs) that no one else can see or monitor. It is important to encourage your children to never let themselves be lured out of the public Internet area.