WebProNews

Shortly after we started powerpets.com in 2002, we were contacted by CARU, the *company*, run and funded mainly by certain large companies such as Neopets.

After many talks and reading through a lot of documentation, it became clear that the law, while it's intention may appear to be protecting children, it really is to protect companies in the event of lawsuits. The gist of the law says that you'll limit kids from accessing areas where they may reveal personally identifiable information, and that you won't store any personal information about kids. *UNLESS* you receive a consent form from parents (and despite the act applying mainly to online content for sites like ours, you're not allowed to accept digital signatures)

It's flawed by nature. If you can't store any information, how are you supposed to stop kids from creating false identities where they claim to be older than they really are?

Other important things we found out, is that CARU only chases down companies which have sites that attract children by nature.  However, nobody has anything written down about what sites those really are. After five years, we gave up reporting sites to CARU as never any action was taken. It's safe to say that 8 out of 10 game sites don't comply with COPPA, and as far as we know, we're the only site out there that does actual moderation to track down kids who created false identities to avoid site restrictions. We can also tell you why nobody else does this - because it has a severe negative impact on company numbers. A company such as Viacom's neopets would crumble if they would take measures to ensure kids really sign up as kids and not avoid these restrictions by creating an additional account and pretend to be 15.

This problem can't be solved through laws, the solution needs to start at the Internet Provider.  They need to offer *wallets*, family accounts which clearly identify each person in the family. That information doesn't need to go anywhere else, but sites should be able to read just 1 or 2 numbers from the *wallet* in order to determine access.  This is the only way websites can effectively apply restrictions because they will know restrictions parents have set.

Once that is in place, much more effective safeguards can be put in place. A simple notice to a parent wallet indicating a child has signed up to a certain site with a request for a parent to visit a link where they can find out info and give the OK or not OK for more access.

In the end, CARU can't do much. They don't even bother checking out sites any more. the FCC, who can actually enforce anything, won't do much because most of the violating sites are cash poor. If the FCC can't fine them it's a waste of their money. Even if certain websites become profitable, and FCC fine would just mean someone declares bankruptcy and starts over under a different name the next day.

For you, as a parent, here's some tips on finding sites who bothered to comply with COPPA at least:
1) The site needs to have a readily accessible privacy policy outlining what information it stores and does not store from visitors.
2) The privacy policy NEEDS to have full contact information (company name, address)
3) The site needs to determine the age of a person by asking their full birthday.  If it asks "Are you 13 or over or younger than 13" -- that's a violation.
4) Most sites have membership options, if you find a payment goes to a person rather than a company, it's likely they aren't complying.

Stay safe!

There are around a billion and a half people, children and adults, nannied by the government in what they are allowed to see and read online or in the bookshops.

The values of freedom of speech are precious indeed.

But how can parents *in practice* censor what their young children read and see on the Net?

For some children net nanny software is enough.

Others, more curious and tech savvy, know how to bypass the  wall. They may also get url's and content from their friends. Or be the ones passing it out.

For those, their parents have to prepare them for what they may see or read, before they find it themselves.

In this case loss of innocence comes early.

At what age can parents start to prepare their children for the  criminality, insanity and aberrations  that are found in  the real world?

Either way, through self-exposure or parental preparation, loss of innocence seems to be the inevitable outcome of children exposed to unlimited information.