Survey: Parents Want More Protection For Kids Online
A survey conducted by opinion polling firm Zogby International has found that most parents give social networks a failing grade when it comes to protecting the privacy of their children.
The poll found that three out of four parents believe social networks such as Facebook and MySpace are not doing a good job protecting the online privacy of kids.
The survey was conducted for Common Sense Media, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families navigate the vast world of media and technology.
Nine in ten parents said they were concerned that their children share too much information over the web, and 85 percent said they are more concerned about online privacy now than just five years ago.
A big concern the poll found was over geo-location services that pinpoint a person’s whereabouts. Ninety-one percent of parents said search engines and social networks should not be allowed to share the physical location of children with other companies until parents give permission.
“American families are deeply worried about how their personal information is being used by technology and online companies, yet the companies appear to be keeping their heads deep in the sand,” Common Sense Media chief executive and founder James Steyer said in a statement on Friday.
He said that while tech companies need to step up on the privacy of children, parents, schools and government agencies also need to do more.
Both parents and children “have to educate themselves about how to protect their information,” he said. “Schools should teach all students and their parents about privacy protection.”
“And finally, policymakers have to update privacy policies for the 21st century,” he added.
More than 60 percent of parents in the Zogby poll said they want the US Congress to update online privacy laws for children and teenagers. “Parents want far more education and leadership about online privacy, and they clearly want the industry and the federal government to update privacy policies,” said Steyer.
“There are some common sense solutions to these problems, such as ‘opt-in’ policies that require companies to let parents know how information will be used before it’s collected and requiring companies to use short and simple privacy policies instead of confusing and dense policies,” Steyer added.
A “Protect Our Privacy – Protect Our Kids” campaign launched by Steyer, Deputy Education Secretary Anthony Miller, Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz and Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski aims to protect the personal information and reputations of children online.
The campaign offers a privacy curriculum that includes consumer tips, information, and videos for teachers and schools in the United States.
The Zogby poll also showed that 68 percent of parents are not confident in search engines keeping their private information safe and secure, while 71 percent of parents said the same about social networking sites.
And 88 percent of parents said they would support a law that requires search engines and social networks to get authorization from users before they can use personal information to market their products.
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