A whole lot of us know that 13 is Facebook's minimum age, but fewer of us know that the reason for that is not kids' online safety but a law called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act designed to protect the privacy of kids' data – a law administered by the Federal Trade Commission, which right now has it under review. COPPA requires parental consent before sites can collect any data from … [Read more...] about Kids lying to Facebook, not their parents: Study
Privacy
81% of teens use privacy settings: Study
Here's news many people wouldn't expect to read: Of all age groups surveyed by a just-released US survey, teens were the biggest users of online privacy settings, "with 81% using privacy settings when setting up an online profile, compared to 76% of adults and 66% of tweens" (10-to-12-year-olds), according to the 2nd-annual Yahoo! Online Safety Survey. Teens are also best at monitoring their … [Read more...] about 81% of teens use privacy settings: Study
FTC’s proposed updates for COPPA
The US Federal Trade Commission has just announced its proposed changes for the 10-year-old Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the law that inadvertently created the social Web's "minimum age" of 13 (in its effort to define an age when all children are developmentally able to protect their own privacy). Because COPPA requires children's sites and services to obtain parental consent … [Read more...] about FTC’s proposed updates for COPPA
Major privacy and safety updates at Facebook
This week Facebook starts rolling out* a new level of control users have over their profiles and privacy. Among a number of positive changes are: the ability to approve any photo or post you're tagged in before it's visible to others on your profile; the ability to approve or not any tag someone tries to add to your photos or posts; and the ability to decide who sees what you post right before you … [Read more...] about Major privacy and safety updates at Facebook
Disable Facebook facial recognition?
Even though there isn't anything inherently dangerous about the way Facebook uses facial-recognition technology, parents may want to disable it for their children – or even themselves. A short article with screen shots in the Huffington Post walks you through it. Basically, you just "Customize [your privacy] Settings" and, where it says "Edit Settings," you disable "Suggest Photos of Me to … [Read more...] about Disable Facebook facial recognition?