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Safety on the Internet
"You
don't make decisions because they are easy;
you don't make them because they are cheap;
you don't make them because they're popular;
you make them because they're right."
(Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, former President of University of Notre Dame)
INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY REFERENCES
Alphabet Superhighway, Department of Educational Studies, University of
Delaware, Newark, DE, Teacher's Lounge, Writing and Acceptable Use Policy
http://www.ash.udel.edu/ash/teacher/teacherframe.html
Bellingham, Washington School Public Schools, Board Policies
http://www.bham.wednet.edu/policies.htm
Classroom Connect's Connected Teacher, Internet Tips
http://www.connectedteacher.com/tips/tips.asp
Classroom Connect's - Online Privacy Parent's and Teacher's Guide
http://connectedteacher.classroom.com/privacy/privacyguide.asp
Appendix D, from Safeguarding Your Technology, NCES Publication 98-297
(National Center for Education Statistics, US Department of Education)
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/safetech/appendix-d.html
Model AUP published by the Indiana Department of Education.
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/aup/modelaup.html
Internet Acceptable Use Policy Template,
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/WORKSHOPS/Telecom2/AUP_template.html
Acceptable Use Policies from Various School Districts
http://www.aupaction.com/aupsonweb.html
Houston Independent School District's Armadillo--The Texas Studies Gopher.
gopher://riceinfo.rice.edu:1170/11/More/Acceptable
Necessity of a K-12 Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), a research paper about
AUP's, what they are, how to write them, examples, and why we need them.
http://www2.msstate.edu/~fyh1/aup.html
Acceptable Use Policies: A Handbook , Virginia Department of Education, Division
of Technology
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/go/VDOE/Technology/AUP/home.shtml
District Internet Policy and Regulations, Center for Advanced Technology in
Education, College of Education, University of Oregon
http://netizen.uoregon.edu/templates/district_policy.html
TITLE XVII-- Children's Internet Protection Act''
http://www.cdt.org/legislation/106th/speech/001218cipa.pdf.
Creating Board Policies for Student Use of the Internet, The Educational
Technology Journal, Vol 5. No 7. May, 1995. www.fno.org/fnomay95.html
Writing an Acceptable Use Policy
http://www.ash.udel.edu/ash/teacher/AUP.html
Acceptable Use Policy Handbook - Virginia Department of Education
http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/AUP/home.shtml#intro
OFFICE OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, Kentucky Department of Education
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY GUIDELINES and STATE REQUIREMENTS
http://www.kde.state.ky.us/oet/planning/accept_use_policy/district_aup.asp
from SafeKids/NetFamilyNews 12/15/00
Stephen Carrick-Davies, the Childnet person responsible for ChatDanger.com lists
the "five indications of inappropriate contact":
* Somebody constantly asking for information without volunteering much about
themselves e.g., lots of questions about a favorite band or team.
* A lot of messages from one person.
* Requests for photos, personal contact information (phone number, email or
street address, or the school you attend), or other private questions.
* Requests to meet offline.
* Lots of compliments or any appearance of excessive interest in you (appealing
to the vulnerability of children who might feel isolated or excluded).
As for parents, trouble signs can include a child being unusually secretive
about online activity or minimizing what's on his/her computer screen whenever
you come into the room. Solutions include keeping computers in high-traffic
places in the house, taking as much interest in the people a child is meeting
online as at school and in other social settings, and - best of all - generally
being involved in a child's online experience.
Though in many cases it's easy to be intimidated by kids' fluency with chat, IM,
and other Net technologies, don't be. Just ask your child in a very positive way
to show you how to use chat, Stephen suggested. It can be a wonderful
opportunity for parent-child communication of a mutually respectful sort.
Parent sued in Internet case
If your child defames or otherwise harms another child using the Internet,
should you be sued for negligence? In an unprecedented case in Illinois, a judge
seems to think so. According to the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/08/technology/08CYBERLAW.html
the judge ruled
that the father of a high school student accused of placing the picture of a
female classmate's face in a pornographic photo on a public Web page can be sued
for "negligent supervision of a child and negligent entrustment to a child
of a dangerous article [a computer]." In court, the father had asked that
those and several other claims against him be dismissed and the judge let the
negligence claims stand. A separate case was brought against the son for, among
other things, defamation. So both cases will go to trial.
TEACH STUDENTS ONLINE SAFETY
Find tutorials on Microsoft Stay Safe Online web site.
http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/
Find out how students often find themselves IN A
SLUMP: http://dallasnews.com/education/141791_eeposture_15ed.html
as their computer usage increases. Doctors believe that the risk of repetitive
strain injuries has risen; they advocate investing in ergonomic computer
furniture with chairs, keyboard holders, and monitor platforms specially
designed to adjust to the range of children's sizes.
The American Bar Association has prepared a
clearly written Q&A about privacy on the Internet. You can find "Facts
About Privacy and Cyberspace" at GigaLaw.com http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/aba-2000-08-p1.html.
Among the questions answered in the section on children's privacy are: How do
Web sites gather information about children? Are there any laws regulating this?
What special risks do Internet chat rooms pose for children? How can parents
protect their children online?
If your child chats, emails, and/or uses instant-messaging
without the protections offered by those sites, you may want to talk with
your child about your need to monitor that activity and work out some
rules together. Here's a sample family contract http://www.netfamilynews.org/contract.html
for acceptable Internet use.
There are more great "Guidelines for Parents"
http://www.safekids.com/parent_guidelines.htm
DANGER ONLINE! EDUCATING KIDS AND PARENTS ABOUT INTERNET
SAFETY: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech043.shtml
is a must-read for educators. Recent studies show that one in five Internet
users younger than 17 received an online sexual solicitation during the past
year. As an educator, there are several preventative steps you can take,
including controlling the online environment, avoiding
posting student information, and communicating effectively with children about
online dangers.
Drugs on the Net from SafeKids-NetFamilyNews
Our focus this week is on an aspect of online safety that hasn't gotten
much attention: misinformation about and promotion of illegal drugs on
the Internet.
There has been plenty in the conventional media about sites promoting
violence and publishing bomb "recipes," and the media spotlight
occasionally focuses on hate sites, thanks to the good work of hate watchdog
groups. But we all need to know more about how illegal drugs are
promoted and sold on the Web.
Someone who's been tracking this closely is Bobby Charles, an attorney,
consultant in the field of drug prevention, and former chief counsel to
the US House of Representatives subcommittee concerned with drug-related
legislation. Bobby is also doing work for a very creative program/Web
site for teens that we'll tell you more about later: STEPonline.com.
When we asked him about what's going on with drugs on the Web, Bobby summed
it up this way: "The Internet is like a third-world bazaar in which
both legitimate and illegitimate substances [and information] are found
many times almost by accident," he said, adding that there's "a
virtual cornucopia of new threats relating to drugs." He described
the three categories they fall into: 1) "Mislabeled sites that look
like they're part of anti-drug programs but aren't or sites that are actively
promoting legalization, "citing false science," Bobby said;
2) "responsible-use" sites that suggest "everybody is using
drugs, so we need to teach people how to use them responsibly" then
link to other sites that overtly promote drug use; and 3) e-commerce sites
selling drug paraphernalia
such as pipes and rolling papers. Bobby advises parents that "the
biggest word to be aware of is 'deception.' You almost have to teach your
kids in bold, 3-D, flashing neon letters," he said, "that deception
is the rule, not the exception, when they bump into discussion of illegal
drugs online." Why all the deception? "Because most people will
not voluntarily choose to do damage to their minds and bodies. For example,
if you are lured into the notion that Ecstasy is harmless, which Time
magazine unwittingly seems to have suggested in a recent article, then
you forget or never knew that Ecstasy, when taken in multiple pills, will
kill you faster than drinking gasoline…. So deception is the lesson
we need to teach kids…. There are no checks on this third-world information
bazaar."
We asked Bobby for his Web site picks for *correct* information on and
education about drugs. He gave them to us with this caveat: "There
are virtually no prevention sites that are well-linked; comprehensive;
carefully screened; well-maintained and monitored; incentive-driven; actually
entertaining, visual, and interactive; and widely accessible through schools
and homes." Except for STEP's, he added, which is why he's working
for that organization.
So we'll start there. STEP's Web site for teens http://www.steponline.com;
combines information (both text and interactive Q & A with a "Dear
Abby" type character), peer-to-peer discussion, partnerships with
civic organizations and "10,000 school systems" throughout the
US, and - unprecedented in this category - an incentive program for teens
educating themselves about drug abuse and
prevention. The incentive system - involving prizes and awards provided
by partnering corporations - is scheduled to be in place in the next few
months.
As Bobby put it, "If you can take the drug war to where kids are
- in a way that is visual, entertaining, interactive, and provides material
rewards - you have really captured, for the benefit of their own self-preservation,
the attention of the X and Y Generations, whose attention is very hard
to get!"
Other good sites on his list:
* Drug-Free Resource Net http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/;
from Partnership for a Drug-Free America
* DARE.com, with sections for kids, parents, and educators
* National Families in Action http://www.emory.edu/NFIA/;
For research, he recommended…
* Drug Watch International http://www.drugwatch.org/;
- "They're really good at real-time information, not comprehensive
- what's neat is they'll provide daily updates to list members,"
Bobby commented.
* PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information on Drug Education": http://www.pride.org;
* Family Research Council http://www.frc.org;
Finally, Bobby offered some general (not drug-related), very pointed advice
to parents on working with online kids. You've heard similar advice from
other quarters, but we're including it because of his unique way with
words (you can tell he's a dad, too): "No matter how busy you are,
you have to find time - whether on weekends, during breakfast - *regular*
time to talk to your kids about this technology, and I think you have
to learn about it yourself. Don't assume that the Internet is nothing
more than an electronic newspaper. It's more like an electronic forum
in which the lights have all gone out and everybody is entitled to act
any way they please. Some will act thoughtfully, some will act criminally,
and unless you chew on that fact a while, realizing that puts your kids
at direct risk in the blackout environment, then you haven't come to grips
with a danger that is as palpable as not teaching them to look right and
left when they cross the street."
[Editor's note: Statistics about *online* drug promotion and sales simply
aren't available yet, Bobby confirmed, but we do know that "13.6
million Americans were current users of illicit drugs in 1998" (the
latest data available), according to a survey by the White House's Office
of National Drug Control Policy, and nearly 10% of 12-to-17-year-olds
reported they were using drugs. Among high
school students, 41.4% reported drug use within the past year and 25.6%
within a month of the survey.]
Bobby encouraged us to give you his email address in case you have further
questions: rcharleszz@aol.com.
If you have any comments on this item, the Web sites highlighted here,
or other sites and Net-based programs your children or students have found
useful, do email us - via feedback@netfamilynews.org.
from SafeKids/NetFamilyNews 7/28 at SafeKids.com
Real help
There has been plenty of buzz lately about consumer privacy on the Internet,
with coverage of…
* A deal about surfer "profiling" between the US government
and Internet advertisers,
* A lawsuit against bankrupt e-tailers selling users' personal data,
* An FBI email surveillance system, and
* Online privacy legislation being introduced.
Given all that, we wondered two things: Is there any clear, cut-and-dry
information for busy consumers who want to protect themselves? and Do
consumers have any recourse?
Fortunately, with a campaign called "The Privacy Partnership 2000,"
the answer to both questions is "yes." Not an unequivocal one,
but almost. TRUSTe (the privacy advocacy group leading the campaign) and
its corporate partners are delivering something truly useful to people
like us.
On the preventative side of the consumer privacy equation, the Partnership
offers easily digestible guidelines at http://www.truste.org/partners/protection_guidelines_htmlversion.html
for protecting a family's privacy online. They tell us, for example, that:
* Web sites' privacy statements are legally binding (the site has to stand
by what it promises about gathering your personal data), so they're worth
reading - especially the privacy policies of sites you and your children
frequent.
* For Americans, using a credit card on the Internet is just like using
one at K-Mart. For one thing, US law limits a shopper's liability to $50
for purchases made with a stolen credit card number - whether stolen from
a Web site's database or out of a trash can.
* Type credit card numbers only in Web pages whose address starts with
"https:" rather than "http:", because "https"
means you're putting your information on a secure server.
* Once you've digested the guidelines, it's a good idea to teach your
Net-using children what you've learned.
On the remedial side of the equation, users are beginning to have recourse
now. The TRUSTe "Watchdog" at http://www.truste.org/users/users_watchdog.html
is a place on the Web where an individual can register a complaint if
he feels his
personal information, including credit card numbers, has been misused.
If the Web site being complained about is part of the TRUSTe privacy seal
program (and most of the Web sites the average user visits are), TRUSTe
says it will act on that complaint and look into whether its member is
not complying with seal-program requirements. If it finds the site in
violation, TRUSTe says it
will force the Web site to change its business practices or privacy statement,
delete the user's personal data, refer the case to the Federal Trade Commission
for legal action, or all of the above. Complaints can be filed in a form
right in TRUSTe's Web site - the Watchdog page http://www.truste.org/users/users_watchdog.html.
TRUSTe can't necessarily redress what happened to the user, but it can
do something to fix its member-sites' practices. An individual can also
file a complaint directly with the FTC here: https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm)
about any Web site, whether or not it's a member of the TRUSTe seal program.
Here, too, the FTC can't act on all complaints and it can't act on behalf
of an individual, but - when it sees a number of complaints against a
single Web site - it can file suit against that site, FTC attorney Toby
Levin told us. "We act on behalf of the public interest," Ms.
Levin said, "not on behalf of the individual."
[The law, Levin said, does not require a Web site to have a privacy statement
- unless it's targeting children under 13. It only requires a Web
site to abide by its privacy statement *if* it has one. That's where
the TRUSTe program comes in. Through the seal program, the organization
provides an incentive - consumer trust, which translates into traffic
- for Web sites to publish privacy statements.]
The bottom line is, if a consumer feels her privacy has been abused by
a Web site, if she's right, and if her goal is to have that site change
its practices (not to win a large sum of money in a lawsuit against the
site), it would be worth her while to file complaints with both TRUSTe
(if the site's a TRUSTe member) and the FTC. If her child's privacy is
being abused by a site for children, especially if it doesn't have a privacy
statement, there is even more reason to get word to the FTC. Lots of "ifs"!
Still, there are signs of progress in online consumer privacy.
For a picture of privacy-protection efforts on *many* fronts, see just
below.
If you have any questions or comments on the above, do send them in -
via feedback@netfamilynews.org.
They appreciate parents' and teachers' perspectives.
Privacy in the news
For more information, here's a roundup of just the latest stories on this
subject:
* Data: Here's research at eMarketer.com: http://www.emarketer.com/estats/20000629_quick.html
on how the top shopping
sites are *really* handling our privacy.
* The consumer's perspective: A New York Times analysis, "Contradictions
Abound in Public Concerns over Net Privacy": http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/biztech/articles/24neco.html.
.
* For yet more on this issue: An index of New York Times coverage of "Privacy
in the Digital Age": http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/reference/index-privacy.html.
Research by Internet company Cyveillance this month found that the World
Wide Web now has more than 2 billion unique, publicly-accessible pages,
and that number will double by early next year. The study, which showed
a growth rate of 7 million pages per day, found that "the Internet's
highest growth rate is still to come." About 85% of the pages are
hosted in the United States. Our thanks to the USIIA Bulletin (US Internet
Industry Association http://www.usiia.org)
for its report on the study. Cyveillance's press release is at http://www.cyveillance.com/newsroom/pressr/000710.asp.
Few search engines on the Web are child-safe - with the exception of Ask
Jeeves for Kids: http://www.ajkids.com
and Go.com and Lycos.com. *And* the latter two are only for children if
parents turn on Go's "GoGuardian" and Lycos's "Parental
Controls," which are links just below the search boxes on both home
pages.
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