Children and the Internet - Privacy

PRIVACY

Many marketers use the Internet to compile market research profiles of pre-adult Net surfers. They may elicit sought-after information with the promise of some of form of compensation. A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that two-thirds of children polled would supply the names of their favorite stores when offered a "great free gift," while 40 percent would volunteer details concerning family cars, their allowances, and family political opinions. Thus, children serve as sources of information about not only their own, but also their family members' purchasing and lifestyle habits. Concerns over such practices center on the fact that children are far less guarded than adults. Hence, the possibility for abusing minors' privacy runs high.

Proponents of greater safeguards for children's online privacy argue that personal information gathered online aids marketers in further targeting a highly vulnerable audience. Marketers use the information to tailor online ads to children and their families, and frequently flood children with unsolicited messages. Some of those concerned also question whether Web sites adequately monitor the parties to whom they supply child-data. Children may expose themselves to dangers when they post personal information on bulletin boards or access chat rooms. An FBI and Department of Justice study determined that child predators utilize such online information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated the privacy issues connected to children's Internet use in 1996. It concluded that children form "a large and powerful segment" of online consumers actively targeted by commercial Web sites. In 1998 the FTC published its findings in Privacy Online: A Report to Congress. The report characterized industry self-regulation as ineffective and called for legislation to protect children's online privacy. The FTC based its recommendations on a survey of 1,402 Web sites, 212 of which were children's sites. While most sites collected children's personal data, only a few informed their users this was being done. Most lacked comprehensive privacy policies. Fewer than one in ten facilitated parental control over site use and less than 25 percent suggested that children ask parental permission before supplying personal data online.