Week 6

 The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was passed by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children's access to obscene or hazardous information on the internet. The need for two separate acts arises from the fact that they regulate different aspects of Internet use: COPPA governs commercial websites, whilst CIPA governs schools and libraries. Another distinguishing element of the two statutes is that they are administered by separate commissions. Federal rules like FERPA and COPPA safeguard student/child privacy and records.

(Pintrest Image Retrieved from: 

CIPA, COPPA, FERPA. (n.d.). Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/lbthomp/cipa-coppa-ferpa/)


In retrospect, I am of the opinion that COPPA can effectively safeguard children from viewing detrimental online content. However, it is important to note that the primary purpose of COPPA is to equip parents with the ability to regulate the gathering, utilization, or revelation of personal information from children on the internet. This age group is considered more vulnerable to deceitful tactics and thus requires enhanced safeguarding. as inefficacious.

(Memeroid image Retrieved from S. (2014, February 9). 13 year olds. Memedroid. https://www.memedroid.com/memes/detail/774521)


Danah Boyd observed that parents instruct their children to falsify their age in order to bypass age restrictions there is no text provided (Boyd, 2010). I can relate to situations like this because in my childhood, there were multiple instances when my mother would falsify my age to fit certain age criteria and avoid paying more than required. I presume that each of you has had the experience of dining at a buffet at some point in your life. It is widely known that as one reaches a particular age, they may be required to pay a higher fee or be treated as an adult. Upon reflection, it is becoming increasingly common for children to have unrestricted access to screen time, lacking proper supervision and accountability. There is no valid reason for children to have social media accounts or freely browse the internet without the supervision of their guardians. 


Information and policy literacy are needed for COPPA to succeed. Helping digital citizens understand how their information is used, their rights, and how policies affect them is crucial. Without parents and educators understanding that the 13 limitations are about privacy, COPPA will fail (Boyd, 2010). Parents and educators need to understand more about COPPA and share their opinion to ask Congress to properly handle privacy issues without taking away their rights to parent and educate (Boyd, 2010). Without excluding those without active parents.

Works cited

Z. (2010, June 10). How COPPA Fails Parents, Educators, Youth | danah boyd | apophenia. https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/06/10/how-coppa-fails-parents-educators-youth.html


Comments

  1. Adam BlazekApril 19, 2024 at 1:58 PM

    Hi Cydney,

    I agree that one of the biggest issues with COPPA is how easily/common it is for the age of users to be falsified, either as you noted due to parents, or due to children just claiming they are of a certain age, and knowing that there is minimal structure in place to actually verify whether or not they are actually the age they claim. Did you have an age in mind that you feel would be the point where someone would no longer need parental consent for data collection, or would you say it's primarily about just enforcing the current 13-year limit?
    I also liked that you noted the importance of teachers and parents understanding COPPA-did you have something in mind as the best way to make this happen? For parents I could imagine something like a public campaign sharing information, but I'd worry that this still wouldn't reach the full amount of people that it might need to.

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