As
social media / SNS becomes integral and addictive to
adolescent life, children struggle to develop their
digital identity while striving for privacy. Online
regulations offer limited privacy protection for ages
up to 13 - this young age does not reflect the age of
adulthood. Minors require protection from adult social
media, content and personal data collection /
disclosure.
Government
should intervene and provide policies and stipulations
regarding the enforcement of age restrictions up to a
minimum of 18 years, thus mandating safer sites for
children.
Argument #1: Government
efforts to
protect minors violates constitutionally protected
speech.
Government
legislation is criticized to actively
suppress children's rights to freedom of speech,
self-expression, and
other First Amendment rights. “While the
court recognized that
"protecting children from sexually explicit material
on the Web" is a
compelling government interest, the court nevertheless
held that COPPA violates
the First and Fifth Amendments because it was not
narrowly tailored to further
Congress's interest, was not the least restrictive and
most effective
alternative in achieving Congress's compelling
interest, and was impermissibly
vague and overbroad.”(Groppe, 2007, p. 231).
Argument #2: Expanding
government
regulations up to the age of maturity will
further the falsification of consent
in order to gain access to social networking
services.
Children 13 and over
will be unable to gain
access to meaningful services aimed at
teens/adolescents. The interest in these
services will prompt lying about age and often
parental supported consent
deception. In addition, this restriction may lead to
other online activities
that are less age appropriate and pose larger risk
(Boyd, Hargittai, Schultz &
Palfrey, 2011, p. 7).
Sources:
Groppe, J. S. (2007). A
Child’s Playground or a
Predator’s Hunting Ground? - How to Protect Children
on Internet Social
Networking Sites. CommLaw Conspectus, 16(1),
215–248.
Database or web link: Ebscohost - Communication and
Mass Media Complete
database Type of Source: Scholarly Is it peer reviewed, refereed or a
legal review? Peer
Are there citations inside the article? Yes Bias evaluation: Peer
reviewed so assume no bias
Boyd, D., Hargittai,
E., Schultz, J., &
Palfrey, J. (2011). Why parents help their children
lie to Facebook about age:
Unintended consequences of the ‘Children’s Online
Privacy Protection
Act’ First Monday, 16(11). doi:
10.5210/fm.v16i11.3850.
Database or web link: See above Type of Source: Scholarly Is it peer reviewed, refereed or a
legal review? Refereed Are there citations inside the
article? Yes Bias
evaluation:
Refereed reviewed so assume no bias