COPPA and CIPA

This week I’ll be talk about the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA). Both of these are federal laws geared towards keeping our children safe on the Internet. Being in a digital world, the Internet has greatly shaped our teaching styles and education. Therefore, it’s fitting that laws have been put in place to help protect students on the Internet.

In my educational setting, I work at the high school level. All 800 of our high school male students have an iPad, resulting in a 1:1 technology device. As educators, we’ve found it difficult not only to protect children, but also to manage their use of the Internet so it is used for appropriate, school related services.  One filter that my school in place to block access to specific areas on the Internet is Barracuda, a web security gateway that assist in web browsing safety. This is one of the many filters used in school districts so you cannot access certain websites and materials. I'm not sure that CIPA and COPPA are enough to protect our children on their own. I think parents, educators, administrators, mentors, and/or coaches are all responsible in teaching our young children about the safety of the Internet. 

Many of my classmates have spoke to the fact that students need to be 13 to access certain websites. However, we've read and seen that it's very easy to fake a birthday in order to get on that website. I honestly don't know what the solution would be for fake birthdays. Our school also puts in extensive descriptions in our handbook that requires students to agree to all of our protocols when it comes to using technology. The screenshot below shows that we state that “The school reserves the right to monitor all computer users’ activities both on and off campus.” Therefore, students can be held accountable for any inappropriate Internet use both at home or school when they are part of our school community. We hold our students to the highest expectations in order to avoid any potential safety concerns and dangers they may encounter.

Personal screenshot of Notre Dame College Prep handbook. 

I also think it’s extremely important that both parents and teachers are on the same page when it comes to Internet policies. Parents and teachers or administrators need to be a team when it comes to protecting children on the Internet. We provide information to our parents at parent meetings, back to school night, and via email communication and policy agreements that need to be signed.

So yes, CIPA and COPPA are steps in the right direction when it comes to protecting our children, but I'm not sure they are enough. I think it's a team effort, it's an educational opportunity to teach students, and it's an ongoing process. Keeping students and children safe on the Internet will be ever changing, as our Internet is ever-changing.