Today, February 7, 2012, take a few minutes to ask your United States Representative to support the Do Not Track Kids Act, a bill that seeks to prevent the tracking and collecting of kids’ online information and activities.
Parents and educators know how much children and teens love to explore the digital world, and that’s not going to change. What needs to change is the way companies collect information about kids’ digital activities and then use it for marketing purposes, much of it exploitative. The Do Not Track Kids Act aims to stop tracking the activities of children and adolescents and encourages companies to adopt a Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens.
A Bill of Rights could also help to prevent the collecting of information about kids’ mistakes and errors. Right now no child-friendly erasers exist on the Internet.
Below are four of the organizations that support H.R. 1895. Other organizations are listed on Common Sense Media’s privacy page.
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
- Common Sense Media
- Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
While much is wonderful about our connected, information-rich world, educators and parents need to redouble their efforts to help students understand the risks of digital communication. The Do Not Track Kids Act would help make the digital world more secure for children and adolescents; however, our educational efforts and family conversations will be no less important.
You can also read my recent privacy-related post about online quizzes and surveys.
Media! Tech! Parenting! 