No privacy for young: rather lie

by Rian

I hope this intrigued some people, because it didn’t do that for me. Interesting stories, but who cares about privacy on facebook? I mean seriously, does the author not understand the consequences of telling “REAL AGE” on facebook? -R

Forbes | The Unintended Consequences of Well-Intentioned Privacy Regulation

No matter how well-intentioned, regulation often has unintended consequences. A case in point is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), a law that mandates certain online privacy protections for children under the age of 13. A new study documents how the law has encouraged many kids—often with the help of their parents—to lie about their ages online and evade age-based restrictions. The authors also conclude that COPPA “inadvertently undermines parents’ ability to make choices and protect their children’s data.”