CHILDREN, PRIVACY AND THE INTERNET:
A BRIEF REPORT

The following summary is based on research conducted by Dr. Sharon Strover, Ph.D. Director, TIPI. The research project was funded by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

The research conducted by TIPI on children and the Internet addressed three areas of concern for policy-makers: (1) the general content of Internet sites targeting children, (2) the information-gathering practices used by commercial Internet sites targeting children, and (3) the concerns and knowledge of parents about their children's Internet use. The questions posed were:

· What kinds of personal information are collected by children's commercial Web sites from children who visit those sites?

· What research exists about parents' perceptions, knowledge and expectations regarding children's personal information being collected by site operators? What are parents' perceptions, knowledge and expectations of the risks and benefits of using "privacy" technology?

· Do children's information practices in the online context differ from those implemented in other contexts?

· Do schools, libraries and other settings in which children may have access to the Web have a role to play in protecting children's privacy?

Data Sources

First, TIPI content analyzed several Internet sites targeting children. The sample contains sites that are sponsored by educational (.edu), commercial (.com), institutions as well as non-profit organizations (.org). For the analyses reported here, we singled out 50 commercial databases. The second component of the data reported is focus group material. We have conducted focus groups with 15 parents of a combined total of 21 children who use the Internet. Our discussions with them covered how their children use the Internet, what their parental concerns are, how they deal with privacy matters, how they interact with children about their Internet concerns.

The Results
Internet Sites: Content and Information Collection
· 39% had advertising for products such as software, T-shirts, etc.
· Most sites did not have warnings about ads.
· 61% offered some sort of interactive service or component, like chat rooms or email.
· Only 18% offered explicit safety tips (usually to parents rather than kids).
· Only 20% posted policy guidelines mentioning privacy or information disclosure.
· 24% used "cookies" in tracking navigation. · 39% requested or required personal information.
· Email address and name was the most requested information.

Parental Concerns I: Privacy

· Parents are able to and often do monitor their children's home use of computers and Internet.
· Since most children have access to the Internet and email through their parents' accounts, and using the Internet may occupy an only phone line, at this time it is easy for parents to see the sort of interactions and activities that children undertake on the computer.
· The primary concern of parents focused not on commercial information collection but rather their children's exposure to indecent content or their children meeting someone over the Internet.

Parental Concerns II: Positive Aspects of the Internet and its Dangers

· Computer use is seen as promoting typing and spelling skills; certain transactions help children to construct full and better sentences, and to learn how to undertake research; there is a wealth of resources useful to homework and projects.
· Chat rooms are seen as misleading, too sexually oriented, and as containing objectionable language.
· There is insufficient information on the Internet for younger children who lack good reading skills.

Parental Concerns III: Schools, Libraries and the Issue of Liability

· Parents assume that schools and libraries monitor and protect children.
· General dissatisfaction with "filtering software" such as Net Nanny and CyberPatrol. Dissatisfaction was linked to a general sense that filtering was not going to be a realistic answer to limiting children's access to certain material if those children were sufficiently motivated to get to it.
· Filtering software does not deal with the problems of teaching children to behave civilly and providing them with the skills to evaluate truth and falsity as well as to assess danger and opportunity in the Internet environment.
· Parents did not see school policies as a final answer to the issue of children's privacy or protection.

Conclusions/Implications

Comments from parents in our sample underscore that the Internet can be a raunchy, insulting place with many dangers. However, it can also be a useful, fun and productive place. Given that parents' perception that the Internet resembles other "spaces" children go unaccompanied, and that the rules for maneuvering in that space likewise resemble rules applicable to other environments, policy makers might focus on inculcating a better understanding of the "best" rules for using the Internet.

Sites attracting younger children would be excellent candidates for such "rules" because children can take those early lessons with them as they grow up to use other sites, and because parents have a better chance of encountering them and discussing them with their children. Parents did not seem concerned at this stage about the information being gathered about their children - or themselves. However, most were unfamiliar with exactly what was being gathered. Their annoyance with "junk" mail may escalate as more sites develop methods to "push" ads, offers, and other products to children at their parents' email addresses.

For more information contact:

SHARON STROVER, DIRECTOR sstrover@mail.utexas.edu (512-471-6667)