Tag Archives: safety

When I was a fourth-grade teacher, a minor scandal broke out when a student—who had proudly shared his private password with several friends—logged into our school library platform to find that all of his contacts and corresponding book recommendations had been deleted. This wasn’t due to a system glitch or the accidental click of a button—instead, a nascent classroom hacker had used that freely shared password to play a practical joke on her classmate. Looking back, this incident might have…

With so much going on in the kids’ tech policy world, including a mention during the State of the Union address, we are back with thoughts on recent developments. We also have several events to share, so please read on. The legislative and regulatory landscape addressing children’s experiences in digital environments can feel vast, with the FTC, Congress, and state legislatures across the country wrestling with a variety of ways to approach these challenging issues. The academic community continues to…

In this episode, Lucha Sotomayor, a representative from the UN’s Office of the Special Representative on Violence Against Children, discusses the importance of children’s participation in addressing and preventing violence. She shares insights into various forms of violence against children, including physical, psychological, and verbal violence, as well as harmful practices like child marriage and child labor. Lucha also highlights the need to create a world where children can live free from violence and emphasizes the ongoing challenges faced by…

Jennie Ito, a developmental psychologist and expert in children’s media and content appropriateness, joins Laura and Jordan in a compelling conversation on creating safer digital environments for kids. Drawing from her vast experience, which includes spearheading content policy development for kids’ experiences on YouTube, Google Play, and her current role at Roblox, Jennie provides a deep dive into the intricacies of age-appropriate digital policy-making. Together, they explore the critical challenges and innovative solutions in ensuring child safety in digital platforms.…

The following article was originally published on Net Family News and appears here with permission. Even though the United States is the only country on the planet that hasn’t ratified the nearly 34-year-old UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, US-based companies that serve kids and teens around the world no longer have any excuse not to uphold their rights. Why is that the case? Not “only” because young people’s lives are now “digital by default,” as psychology professor Sonia Livingstone wrote, or…

This transcript of the Into the Digital Future podcast provides has been edited for clarity. Please listen to the full episode here and learn more about the series here. Alicia is the Head of Kids and Families Strategy at YouTube, where she focuses on helping children and their parents and caregivers realize their rights to more safely learn, connect, and play online. She was previously the Public Policy Lead for Kids and Families at Google, where she worked on issues…

Last December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the results of its two-year review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protections Act (COPPA), including a series of amendments and rule changes aimed at updating the Act in light of recent technological and social developments. This was the first time COPPA had been revised since it was first introduced in 1998, and given all the new devices, industry practices and trends in children’s online behaviour (including social networking) that have emerged over…

This post originally appeared on Playwell’s website, and appears here with permission. As 2012 came to a close, the children’s media and marketing industries saw a flurry of activity from the Federal Trade Commission. In December alone, we saw reports on mobile apps (“Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade”) an updated Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, and a new report on food marketing to children and adolescents. None of these were unexpected, and savvy industry experts…

Last week I attended Back to School – Learning and Growing in a Digital Age, an event which explored federal policy, e-learning, and digital literacy, sponsored by Common Sense Media, PBS Kids, USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, and The Children’s Partnership. The session that impacted me most was Empowering Parents and Kids with Technology. What was fascinating about the speakers on this panel was that collectively they described the evolution of Internet and its perceived challenges facing…