You can allow a Web site to collect your child's personal information while preventing it from relaying this information to a third party. You don’t need to give consent if an e-mail address is being shared for a one-time-only communication but if the information is going to be used for any other purpose the operators must inform you and you can then decide to approve the request or not.
This may happen if the Web site is going to change the terms-of-use of the information significantly.
When an e-mail address is collected, consent will not be required under the following circumstances:
* To obtain a response to a one-time request from the child.
* In order to provide notice to the parent.
* To ensure the safety of the child or the Web site.
To protect your kid’s privacy online you should make sure that all features that do require consent do ask for it.
4) View the Information
A site may ask you to verify your identity to make sure your child's information isn't given out in a way that you disapprove of and you can ask to view all the information that it has collected about your child. If you suspect that information is being misused you can protect your kid’s privacy online by making sure they are not divulging personally identifiable data.
5) You Can Retract your Consent
If at any time you become unhappy with the measure of your kid’s privacy online you can tell the site to stop collecting additional information from your child and revoke your consent. You can also ask for all of your child’s personal information to be deleted from the site.
If you think your child is being abused in any way via the World Wide Web you can contact the Federal Trade Commission for assistance. They are committed to preventing fraud and unfair business ethics and to helping consumers assess report or avoid such negative consequences of online browsing.
The Federal Trade commission will enter any Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel. This is a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
If you want to file a complaint or get some more information about your kid’s privacy online you can visit:
Take steps today to protect your child’s privacy online and make sure your kids are not at risk from unscrupulous characters. Don’t feel you are being over-protective or restricting their online enjoyment. It truly is a case of ‘better safe than sorry’!
