CIPA and COPPA Information

CIPA:

CIPA stands for the Child Internet Protection Act. This act states that in order for schools and libraries to receive federal funding for technology, they must meet certain requirements. These requirements include creating a policy which pertains to restricting internet access and filtering inappropriate material for minors, which includes pornography, obscene material, and other harmful information. Schools must also monitor students’ online activity, as well as provide documentation to show how they are educating their students about safe use of technology.

Congress tried for years to limit children’s exposure to pornography and other harmful material on the internet, and they finally accomplished this goal by tying the law to federal funding. This law is meant to protect young eyes from much of the obscene material on the web, which they are not yet developmentally able to process and filter for themselves. Unfortunately, filters today are still not perfect, and in 2008 they still under blocked 15-20% of explicit material, and were only 83% accurate.

http://fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html (Definition)

http://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/485 (Rationale)

http://www.lrs.org/2014/11/05/ala-cipa/ (Statistics)

COPPA:

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) applies to the protection of the privacy and personal information of minors under the age of thirteen. Companies must obtain parental (or educator) consent before collecting any information from children under thirteen. This act also restricts marketing that targets those who are under the age of thirteen. Companies and websites must include the information on how they are complying with this law in their privacy policy.

COPPA came about because in the 1990’s there was exponential growth in online companies targeting their marketing towards children. Children do not realize the potential negative effects and consequences of having their personal information online and public. It was easy for companies to obtain children’s information without obtaining parental consent, so the public pressured congress to intervene.

http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/definition/COPPA  (Rationale and definition)

Teacher Resources:

There are many interactive and fun websites that schools can use to teach their students about internet safety in an engaging way. One of the best websites for students to learn about cyber safety is FBI Cyber SurfIsland, where students from 3^rd-8^th grade can explore different aspects of cyber safety such as privacy, bullying, etiquette, and more. Another website is Surf Swell Island, which is a Disney created website directed towards lower elementary students. Students can play different games which teach about viruses, privacy, password making and more to receive gems and win the game!