Privacy Legislation Does Not Eliminate Need to Teach Kids About Online Privacy

by Lynette Owens

Do a  search on the term ‘privacy legislation’ and you will see numerous links to politicians and news stories from the last few weeks.  Online privacy has suddenly become the stage for a huge battle between lawmakers, technology companies, youth and online safety advocates, advertisers, and consumers.   Most U.S. parents probably don’t realize all of this is transpiring at both a national and state level.  Breaking down one proposed piece of legislation, SB242 from California State Senator Ellen Corbett, may help identify what is fueling all of the action and reaction and, more importantly, remind us of our role in teaching kids how to protect their online privacy.    SB242 is essentially focused on addressing customer online privacy on social networking sites.  There are three provisions in the bill that deserve a closer look.   Online services – social networking, shopping, news or music subscriptions, gaming, etc. – require you to provide personal information in order to use them.  Those services that do everything in their power to protect that information are more likely to attract and keep users/viewers.  For most online services, this is a no-brainer because the primary interaction is between you and the site.  The information you share with them – from address to age to shopping and surfing habits – could be used by the site to improve your experience with them.   Continue reading here about privacy legislation and teaching kids about online privacy.   About Trend Micro
To support our vision of making the world safe for exchanging digital information, Trend Micro aspires to make a difference by using our 20+ years of expertise in developing world-class security software for homes and businesses  to make the world at large a better place. One of the ways we do this is through a commitment to make the Internet a safer place for young people around the world. 

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