Module 6 EDU 790: Digital Privacy Laws
Many people find studying laws boring, but I found that very interesting. I was interested in attending law school when I was in high school. After learning so much over the past several weeks about privacy and data mining, it's more imperative than ever to have protections in place for people, but especially for our most vulnerable students. I found the Student Data Privacy Laws handout to be very helpful in understanding each law as well as the image below.
I think these laws do quite a bit to protect children, but I think the age should be 17 and not 13. Our students have underdeveloped frontal lobes which gets in their way of emotional/impulse control, long term planning, self-awareness, understanding consequences, and decision making. They also have an overactive limbic system which explains the more impulsive behavior, increase in risk taking, and emotional highs and lows, as well as the reward seeking. Due to these brain structures, teenagers need more protection, not less. They cannot always process or understand the importance of privacy and may rebel against their guardians, so something in place to protect them from the federal and state government to block predatory sites and companies trying to turn a profit is important. Increasing the age is also needed for students who qualify for special education or English language learner services. Can kids lie? Yes, but that's why parental controls and responsibility is so important. There are so many apps available to help control child access to many sites (out of school) that can be used for computers and phones.
You are correct in that the companies will never regulate themselves- there is too much money to be made. An interesting read about this is a book by Jaron Lanier called "10 arguments for deleting your social media accounts right now." What's great about it is that Jaron was a "silicon valley tech guy" so he drives this point home. Also well said was your comment about the developing brain. That's a compelling argument! The only thing that gives me pause about that one is that the brain is still developing until around the age of 25 (which explains some of my son's opinions lol). I'm not sure what the answer is. Thanks for the fantastic FERPA image, too!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the graphic your included about all the privacy laws. It's the perfect "cheat sheet" for people to quickly understand what each law does and protects. I think that it is our responsibility as educators to teach our students (and even our colleagues) about being safe online. I agree with you that companies do not have a good track record of regulating themselves. It's a little sickening if you ask me. They are allowed to sell and safe their users' data without much push back from federal agencies. I do not like that it seems like if they have enough money, then the rules don't apply to them. This is why we must protect ourselves and teach our students to do the same!
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I really like your comments on how teenagers are still developing their brain and are prone to higher risk behavior. I think it is important for media to consider that point of view when creating content that is consumed by young adults in that age bracket. We all thought or felt similar to that at one point or another. I also agree with how you pointed out that companies would not regulate themselves. I do not think that most companies profits are subject to the same level of ethics that us citizens adhere to and therefore are able to exploit information at a mass level. It all feels quite dystopian sometimes.
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