CIPA & COPPA
COPPA (The Children's Online Privacy and Protect Act) and CIPA (the Children's Internet Protection Act) are federal laws placed to protect children's use of the internet. In essence, CIPA "addresses concerns about children's access to obscene or harmful content over the internet"(Federal Communication Commission 2019). COPPA imposes specific requirements towards "websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age"(Federal Trade Commission 2023).
Image Source: iKeepSafe
CIPA strives to provide filtering and monitoring software on school devices, while also educating students on internet safety. CIPA has a similar issue in that it became law before the explosion and evolution of social media, meaning that there are several grey areas that school districts have to figure out and implement restrictions to on their own time. Monitoring websites and internet activity does not always get it right. I think back to my time in high school when I was doing research for a studio art class and fell in love with a particular artist. Upon attempting to view her website, it was blocked for pornographic imagery. The artist did not even paint people--she painted surrealist animals and landscapes. This exact thing happened to many other students in this art class. A few months later, the school's email blast was hacked and the entire school, all students, teachers, and faculty, were emailed an actual pornographic video. Obviously, we were all over the age of 13, but most of us were under the age of 18 and still legally minors. My point in telling this little narrative is that software monitors do not always get it right. They are not the end-all-be-all. They are a tool, but not necessarily an effective one.
These laws target kids at the age of 13, however, with the constant evolution of technology, children should be targeted even younger since kids of even younger ages are now becoming proficient in using internet resources like social websites and games. Really, it should be children ages 10+ that CIPA/COPPA are targeting. Even if children this young aren't necessarily using computers, laptops, or smartphones, there are still video game platforms and iPad games that open younger kids to a world of inappropriate access.
Citations
Federal Communications Commission. (2019, December 30). Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Federal Communications Commission. https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/childrens_internet_protection_act_cipa.pdf
United States Government. (2023, February 3). Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (“coppa”). Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule-coppa
Hello, Renee! Thank you for sharing your perspectives on CIPA and COPPA. It's an excellent point - one that's easy to forget - that these federal laws were put into place before many social media platforms even existed. Even Facebook, which I take for granted at this point, was first available in 2004 - six years after COPPA was originally passed, and four years after CIPA was originally passed. These laws could potentially be more effective if they better addressed our current society, current technologies, and current technology users.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story about your art class as well. That's wild, and yet entirely believable, that the monitoring software censored art, but did not censor content that would actually be harmful to kids and teens. I like your quote, "They are a tool, but not necessarily an effective one." If you were to redesign this tool, are there particular issues that you'd want the law to prioritize addressing? (If you don't have an answer, that's totally fine. I for one would need to do much more research before making any propositions regarding federal law!)
Hello Renee! That hacking incident sounds terrifying....the filters/blockers are a good tool, but they're not always affective. And websites which look innocuous can be actually phishing, so learning the differences and what's official is really important (especially with advertising).
ReplyDeleteThese laws are a good first step, but I think their effectiveness depends on other factors (education, vigilance, and reevaluating how the human brain develops).