The Law is the Beginning

 The Law

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As educators we are responsible for our students in our classrooms.  We are tasked with not only teaching them academic standards, but supporting them socially, emotionally, and now digitally.  Both the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) and The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) are federal laws created to protect children in the digital age.  COPPA was originally passed in 1998 and revised in 2013, while CIPA was originally passed in 2001 and revised in 2011.  I was surprised to learn that it had been ten years or more since these laws had been revised.  Thinking about how access to devices and devices with internet has changed in the last ten years, especially post COVID, it seems like some of the laws may be out of date.

What’s my age again?

One of the ways the laws could be reviewed is the 13 year old age.  I have taught second through sixth grades and in every grade I have taught in the past ten years, I have had students that have had their own phones or tablets with access to the internet.  While I am hopeful, most of those primary age students are not on social media, I know my sixth graders are on Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.  I am hoping they obtained parent permission as required, but most of the social media sites' terms of service require an age of 13 that aligns with COPPA and CIPA.  As Danah Boyd said we are teaching kids to lie because there are not checks and balances with this.

Blurred Lines

While laws like CIPA and COPPA are created for the protection of students and schools, the interpretation of the laws causes me some pause.  These two laws really raise the question of who is responsible for keeping children safe online.  The article from Ed Week discussed a case that went all the way to the supreme court regarding a teen’s use of language on Snapchat.  The school argued that because the abusive language was directed at the school and the school activity, that she deserved the consequence of being removed from the cheerleading team, as that post violated the team rules of respecting the school, coaches, cheerleaders, and teams.  The parents felt this was a violation of free speech.  The Supreme Court agreed with the parents because the post did take place off of school property.

So who is responsible?

According to David Schouweiler’s video on CIPA, COPPA, and FERPA, states that there is no such thing as privacy on the internet.  That being said, it is going to “take a village” to protect the children in our lives whether they are our own children or our students. It is our responsibility as educators to know and understand the laws and have the tools to pass onto parents. Just like we share information about the importance of reading and learning math facts, I think we need to start sharing information about internet safety. Hopefully when students are hearing messages at school and home as well as having their devices monitored in both locations it will lead to safer more appropriate experiences online. 

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