National Internet Safety Month: Protecting Your Child's Privacy Online

Parents have control over the personal information companies collect online from their kids under 13. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act gives you tools to do that. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule. If a site or service is covered by COPPA, it has to get your consent before collecting personal information from your child and it has to honor your choices about how that information is used.

What is COPPA?

The COPPA Rule was put in place to protect kids’ personal information on websites and online services — including apps — that are directed to children under 13. The rule also applies to a general audience site that knows it’s collecting personal information from kids of that age.

COPPA requires those sites and services to notify parents directly and get their approval before they collect, use, or disclose a child’s personal information. Personal information in the world of COPPA includes a kid’s name, address, phone number or email address; their physical whereabouts; photos, videos and audio recordings of the child; and persistent identifiers, like IP addresses, which can be used to track a child’s activities over time and across different websites and online services.

Does COPPA affect the sites and services my kids use?

COPPA kicks in only when sites covered by the Rule collect certain personal information from your kids. Practically speaking, COPPA puts you in charge of your child’s personal information.

How does COPPA work?

COPPA works like this: Let’s say your child wants to use features on a site or download an app that collects their personal information. Before they can, you should get a plain language notice about what information the site will collect, how it will use it, and how you can provide your consent. For example, you may get an email from a company letting you know your child has started the process for signing up for a site or service that requires your child to give personal information. Or you may get that notice on the screen where you can consent to the collection of your child’s personal information.

The notice should link to a privacy policy that’s also plain to read — and in language that’s easy to understand. The privacy policy must give details about the kind of information the site collects, and what it might do with the information — say, if it plans to use the information to target advertising to a child or give or sell the information to other companies. In addition, the policy should state that those other companies have agreed to keep the information safe and confidential, and how to contact someone who can answer your questions.

That notice should also have directions on how to give your consent. Sites and services have some flexibility in how to do that. For example, some may ask you to send back a permission slip. Others may have a toll-free number you can call.

If you agree to let the site or service collect personal information from your child, it has a legal obligation to keep it secure.

What are my choices?

The first choice is whether you’re comfortable with the site’s information practices. Start by reading how the company plans to use your child’s information.

Then, it’s about how much consent you want to give. For example, you might give the company permission to collect your child’s personal information, but not allow it to share that information with others.

Once you give a site or service permission to collect personal information from your child, you’re still in control. As the parent, you have the right to review the information collected about your child. If you ask to see the information, keep in mind that website operators need to make sure you are the parent before providing you access. You also have the right to retract your consent any time, and to have any information collected about your child deleted.

What if it looks like a site or service is breaking the rules?

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 ftc.gov/complaint.

Kids and Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are computer-simulated online “places” where people use avatars — graphic characters — to represent themselves. Many virtual worlds say they’re for adults only and try to verify that visitors are over 18 before allowing them to enter. But a posted age requirement may not stop kids — especially curious teens — from finding their way in, either accidentally or otherwise.

Types of Virtual Worlds

Some virtual worlds are intended for children: they have built-in protections to keep their experience age-appropriate. Others are designed for adults. Virtual worlds can be accessed in various ways: some are massive, multi-player games, often accessed through a gaming console; others are online communities where avatars’ activities rely on their users’ imaginations.

Talk to Your Kids

The anonymity that avatars provide can encourage people to “act out” behaviors that may be considered inappropriate, particularly for tweens and teens. Indeed, visitors may find the online equivalent of a red-light district, with simulated sexual activity or violence.

How can you help your kids avoid content — or virtual spaces — that may be inappropriate for them? Start by talking to them about where they’re going online — and how they’re getting there, if not through the family computer. Talk to them about how to be safe and responsible while socializing online. Help them understand that personal information about themselves, family members, and friends should stay private; you also can talk to them about avoiding sex talk or sexual situations online.

Stay Engaged

If your child visits a virtual world, you may want to check it out, too. Get to know what’s on the site, the privacy protections it offers, and how it verifies the ages of site visitors.

If your child gets really interested in online gaming or virtual worlds, watch for changes in their patterns of behavior that could indicate an obsession. Nobody knows your child better than you do, so you’re best placed to know what sites may be appropriate for your child.

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a four-part series on internet safety, in observance of National Internet Safety Month. This content is brought to you by Transcript Publishing in partnership with Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies. This week’s articles were taken from the Federal Trade Commission website, consumer.ftc.gov. This feature is sponsored by NDTC and Wiest Associates, LLC.