MySpace moves to give parents more information
17 Jan 2007
Summary
MySpace has announced plans to deliver a Parental Notification tool that allows anyone who installs monitoring software to get the name, age, and location the child is representing on MySpace. Children would be alerted that this information is being shared, but MySpace also plans to notify adults if this information changes.
Critics, other companies in the industry, and several attorneys general have raised serious concerns with this proposal because of the potential to infringe on the privacy of children. It also makes monitoring of children by unauthorized adults easier and falls short of establishing real safety measures within MySpace. The attorney general of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, said that MySpace "notifies the parent too late. At best it's after the child has [already] offered his age. At worst, it's when he's already left to meet a child predator." Read the article.
Things to think about when reading this article
Though recent lawsuits against MySpace highlight the severity of their risks, the issues here affect more than any one company. The safety practices of the entire Internet industry must be improved to protect consumers of all ages.
There is nothing particularly complex in mitigating online safety risks; nor was the potential for harm by cyberciminals (everything from fraud to child exploitation) unknown when social networking tools were built. There is ample documentation of the history of predatory behavior on chat, IM, e-mail, and photo sharing sites—all features of social networking sites.
So, why wasn’t safety built into the foundation of social networking tools? There are four key reasons:
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The eagerness around new products. In the ‘gold rush’ phase of any new product, the primary focus is on pushing the limits and racing forward with new features. When the competition is forging ahead, calls for slowing down to implement safely features lose out to opportunities to be innovative or first to market. (Internet security and privacy also lost out to new features until mandated.)
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Naiveté. Consumers assume Internet safety is in place. Virtually everything else we use or consume—from candy to computers—is tested to meet regulatory standards and usually carries safety warnings. It is shocking to learn that there is no standard for Internet safety, and very few products are developed or tested with safety in mind.
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Developers don’t understand predators. In spite of the pool of knowledge on Internet predators and their behavior as well as how to build safer products, companies have not directed their development teams to explore this knowledge or carry it through into products. This gap in understanding, combined with the focus on building "cool" solutions and a financial reward model that stresses novelty has proven to be a disastrous mix.
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Competition for revenue and market share. Growing fast equals survival in many cases. Companies get greater market share and revenue by developing "cool" features because safety doesn’t sell nearly as well as "cool" does. Consumer attitudes shape this. While people in most countries would say they put a premium on protecting their families, they don’t necessarily put their money where there mouth is. (Or Volvo would be the No. 1 car maker.)
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Cost – the flip side of revenue. While safety investments may ultimately pay off for a company, they represent real costs that are hard to justify in the short term when regulations aren’t requiring safety and consumers aren’t demanding it.
We must look past the symptoms of risk in MySpace and other social networking tools and focus on addressing serious safety gaps across Internet services. There needs to be more than bandaids to cover symptoms. There needs to be a cure that includes a full set of safety requirements to prevent or reduce exploitation. Some safety features are relatively quick to implement and low cost; other measures are complex and will take time, investment, and cooperation to solve.
What government and industry can do
They must place a priority on solving online safety issues now by:
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Making significant investments in establishing and funding grants that encourage companies and universities to research and develop Internet safety solutions and digital forensics labs.
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Funding and assistance to support Internet safety training for K-12 students and their teachers.
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Creating incentives to encourage businesses to promote online safety.
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Industry bodies like the technology coalition against child pornography need to be urged to make progress on standards and cooperation.
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Adequately funding law enforcement to fight crime in cyberspace. To fight technologically advanced criminals effectively, law enforcement must have access to the latest technologies, training, labs, and equipment.
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Cooperating with other countries around the world to remove barriers to protecting consumers and fighting cybercrime. There are no borders online. We cannot prevent the predation of US citizens without tackling global predation. However, international efforts are hampered by lack of consistency in laws; lack of Internet training, tools, and technologies; and lack of international funding and cooperation.
What you can do
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Know your rights to a safe internet experience and demand your safety be protected.
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Evaluate the safety of the online products and services you are using, and decide if they meet your safety standards by reading How to know if online programs and services are safe.
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Let companies and elected officials know you’re unhappy at their failure to protect you and your family online.
To learn more about how to build a framework for a safer online environment, read Part 3 ("Get Going to Protect Yourself Today") in Look Both Ways: Help protect your family on the Internet.
