Internet Privacy: CIPA and COPPA

CIPA/COPPA

Definition:

CIPA requires all schools to have filters on their computers in order to block inappropriate websites and content. The school will not receive funding from the E-Rate program if they do not oblige.  

COPPA was enacted in 1998, and it requires any website that deals with children under the age of 13 to obtain parental permission before collecting any personal information from the children.  The parents also have the power to retrieve any information on their child from the site as well as to not allow the site to solicit information from their child.

Why the laws are in place:

Both of these laws are in place to protect children and to prevent exposing them to inappropriate material online, particularly when they are in the classroom.  The main goal is to make sure that the children are not being exploited online and are being safe on the Internet.  Although the reasoning is sound, there are some technical problems, particularly with CIPA.  Many of the filters censor much more than they need to, and this can affect teachers’ abilities to use the Internet as a teaching tool.  Many times, helpful websites are blocked, and if a teacher was planning on using one of these websites in their lesson, they are out of luck.  There has been some push for better filters or an option to turn them off to complete classwork, but so far no changes have been made.

General Stats on the compliance of CIPA’s requirements in public libraries:

“In 2002, 43.4 percent of public libraries were receiving E-Rate discounts, and 18.9 percent said they would not apply for E-Rate discounts if CIPA was upheld.”

“In 2008, 38.2 percent of public libraries were filtering access within the library as a result of directly receiving E-Rate funding. Furthermore, 13.1 percent of libraries were receiving E-Rate funding as a part of another organization, meaning that these libraries also would need to comply with CIPA’s requirements.”

Teaching Resource to use in the classroom:

Because CIPA is something that affects every single student in a public school, I could make a quick lesson telling them about it as well as the reasoning behind it.  This could be something extra we could do before heading to the computer lab so that they would understand why certain websites were blocked.  When the students understand something, they are less likely to complain.  We could also turn this mini lesson into a discussion on Internet safety and the importance of not revealing too much personal information online.  In this day and age, students need to be told about the dangers of the Internet, regardless of the class they are in.  Internet is an integral part of their lives, and they need to understand how to use it properly to avoid getting hurt.