Privacy+Online

=What may seem private online... is most likely PUBLIC!= media type="youtube" key="dYmb1qz2zmE" height="315" width="420" align="right"

Many children are skilled navigators of the Internet. They are comfortable using computers and are fascinated by the information and images that can be explored at the click of a mouse.

The Internet offers tremendous opportunities to explore new ideas, visit foreign lands, meet other people, and participate in challenging games. But like the real world, aspects of the virtual world can be harmful to children.

Web sites collect significant amounts of personal information from EVERYONE. By asking users to register with the site, join a club, enter a contest, or fill out a questionnaire, these sites can compile names, addresses, favorite activities and commercial products. This information then is used to create customer lists, which may be sold to brokers who, in turn, sell them to other businesses.

Parents, teachers and other guardians cannot always be on hand to prevent our kids from visiting web sites with harmful or objectionable content. Nor can they always be available to discuss with kids what they are encountering in the online world.
 * Watch the video and take note of the DOs and DON'Ts of Online Privacy!**

==**What are the privacy implications of children visiting commercial web sites?** == Today's youth are a highly marketed segment of the consumer population. Advertisers and marketers can use the Internet to target them and gather personal information for marketing purposes.

When kids visit commercial web sites, they might be tempted to fill out surveys, exchange personal information for gifts, register for club memberships, sign up to receive games, and give up personal information in chat rooms. After learning a child's name and favorite fictional hero, a company might send the child an e-mail message pretending to be from that “person.” Younger children are not likely to realize the difference between fiction and reality.

Web sites can also be designed to //invisibly// gather information about children's interests as the child "travels" from page to page, or site to site. Such transactional data is called the "clickstream." It often triggers the placement of "cookies" or “web bugs” on the computer used by the child, which in turn enable targeted ads to be displayed.

**RETURN to Digital Citizenship Home Page**
Content courtesy of Privacy Rights Clearninghouse, @http://www.privacyrights.org/ 2012
 * Resource: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">GetNetWise **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> web site is a comprehensive resource for parents, sponsored by Internet industry companies and public interest organizations, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.getnetwise.org] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. It also provides a useful glossary of online terms, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.getnetwise.org/glossary] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.
 * Additional Resources: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">National Conference of State Legislatures **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> lists cyber-stalking laws at <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/CIP/stalk99.htm] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">WiredSafety **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> family of web sites, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.wiredsafety.org] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.wiredpatrol.org] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, offers a variety of resources for parents, children, and law enforcement. The WiredKids web site provides tips and games for children at <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #800080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|www.wiredkids.org/index2.html] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">.

Video courtesy of CommonSenseMedia.org
 * Media Resources: **