The real problem with kids' privacy legislation
Issue #35
In case you missed it, there was yet another round of hearings on child online safety in Washington a couple weeks back. Lawmakers hauled in executives from YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok to grill them on what they're doing to protect kids online. Not surprisingly, the companies avoided giving any meaningful comments about their stance on legislative reform. While the representatives from YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat didn't add much to the conversation, lots of other experts were quick to weigh in with their thoughts on the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA).
The Federal Trade Commission established COPPA in April 2000, and it sets out guidelines that protect children and their data when they're online. Many experts are quick to point out the legislation is old. After all, 21 years is several lifetimes when it comes to technology. They argue that the laws need to be updated—but I don't think COPPA is ineffective because of its age. It's ineffective because it's just not enforced.
I believe that COPPA is a good regulation. At its core, it aims to protect children in a way that isn't trying to keep kids off of technology entirely. As it's written now, COPPA requires that kids' apps and platforms obtain verified parental consent. It makes sure that platforms confirm that parents are actually parents, that they know exactly what services their kids are using, what kind of personal information is collected—and how that information is used. But a law only works when it's enforced, and COPPA is not enforced with much rigor. After all, it took the FTC until 2019 to enforce COPPA when YouTube had been violating kids' privacy for years.
By now, we know that big platforms won't keep our kids safe. They're not incentivized to protect the needs of children. They might do things to clean up the more obvious violations, but I think that's mostly to maintain their public image.
Titania Jordan, the Chief Parent Officer at Bark, argued that the burden for keeping kids safe is placed on parents. She's not wrong, but I also think that we should bear the weight when it comes to protecting our kids. We know that big tech won't take care of our kids. We live in a digital world and parents need to play an active role. Tech has joined other topics like drugs, alcohol and sex that need to be discussed in our families. Kids need to be prepared. Relying on Facebook to do that job for us would be akin to expecting Budweiser to educate our kids on the dangers of alcohol when their top priority is selling more beer.
In a perfect world, legislators would be able to write, review and update regulations as quickly as technology advances, but we don't live in a perfect world. That said, lawmakers could be making the best of the tools they have at their disposal. They could actually enforce COPPA, which would, at the very least, begin putting platforms on notice.
A deeper dive
Here are a few helpful resources in case you want to really dig into today's topic:
Titania Jordan had some interesting observations about last week's hearings. She helps unpack the important information—which gives us a great jumping-off point to begin debating what kind of reforms would best protect our children. Check out her insights in this Twitter thread here.
According to the Verge, Snapchat and TikTok were somewhat preoccupied with trying to prove that they're different from Facebook. "While YouTube’s parent company Google has testified before, it was the first time representatives from Snap and TikTok testified before Congress, and they came prepared to differentiate themselves from the social media giant at the center of yet another series of scandals." Snapchat's VP even claimed that "Snapchat was built as an antidote to social media." But, being less bad than Facebook is still a pretty low bar. Kids deserve more.
TL;DR
Too long; didn't read. It shouldn't be a full-time job to keep up on industry news, so here is a mercifully quick summary of some other notable developments:
TikTok is reportedly testing a new tool that would allow users to tip creators on the platform. As the Verge explains, "Users must be 18 years or older to send tips to creators, but it doesn’t appear that users have to actually be following the account they’re tipping to use the feature."
Okay, let's talk about Meta—or the company formerly known as Facebook. When news leaked that a rebrand and name change were in the works, lots of people saw it as a blatant attempt to distract from the ongoing scandals plaguing the company. The new name is meant to reference Facebook's future direction, which according to Zuckerberg, is all about the metaverse.
And lastly
Here are a few more pieces of original writing from me and my team—just in case you're keen for more:
Speaking of the metaverse, my team put together a quick explainer to help parents understand the new buzzword. Here is everything you need to know!
Chances are that your family spends at least a little bit of time connecting via video call. With grandparents, aunts and uncles spread far and wide, video calls can be an awesome way to build relationships when you can't be together. But, sometimes it can be tricky to keep kids engaged, so my team put together some ideas to help you make the most of your next virtual play date!