Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Proposed legislation would add “do not track” provisions to COPPA, (Oct 29, 2013)
Organizations Mentioned:American Academy of Pediatrics | Common Sense Media
By Paul Kirby, TRDaily
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R., Texas) said that a report released by Common Sense Media today on the use of mobile devices by children highlights the need for “Do Not Track” legislation, which they said they will introduce in the coming weeks.
“In the 21st century parents now have to plan for their children to crawl, walk, run, and browse,” the lawmakers said. “Increasing use of mobile devices by very young children coupled with rapid change in technological development makes it more important than ever to put federal legislation on the books that provides parents with the tools to protect their children online. The Do Not Track Kids legislation would update COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) for this new Internet ecosystem, establish new protections for the personal information of children and teens and ensure that parents have the tools they need to protect their children’s privacy.”
The percent of children with access to a smart mobile device at home increased from 52% two years ago to 75% today, according to the Common Sense Media report. It said that there has been a five-fold increase in ownership of tablets (from 8% to 40%) among families with children 8 and under.
The average amount of time that children spend using mobile devices has tripled from five minutes a day to 15 minutes a day. The number of children who have used mobile devices has nearly doubled from 38% to 72%. The group even found that 38% of toddlers and infants under 2 have used a mobile device. That percentage was 10% in 2011.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on October 28 released a revised policy statement on the use of exposure of children to various media, including through smartphones.
“A healthy approach to children’s media use should both minimize potential health risks and foster appropriate and positive media use—in other words, it should promote a healthy ‘media diet’,” said Marjorie Hogan, co-author of the AAP policy. “Parents, educators and pediatricians should participate in media education, which means teaching children and adolescents how to make good choices in their media consumption.”
News: Privacy