The Berkman Center’s peer-reviewed journal, First Monday, has just published the report, “Why Parents Help Their Children Lie to Facebook About Age: Unintended Consequences of the ‘Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,’” by danah boyd (not a typo, that’s the way she spells it), Eszter Hargittal, Jason Schultz, and John Palfrey. The paper provides survey data showing “that many parents know that their underage children are on Facebook in violation of the site’s restrictions and that they are often complicit in helping their children join the site. [The] data suggest that, by creating a context in which companies choose to restrict access to children, COPPA inadvertently undermines parents’ ability to make choices and protect their children’s data. [The] data have significant implications for policy‚ makers, particularly in light of ongoing discussions surrounding COPPA and other age‚ based privacy laws.”
Their findings “call the efficacy of COPPA into serious question.” The piece is a thoughtful and informative read — please do share it widely among your friends and colleagues.
More as it happens,
Cheryl
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