Curriculum

Safety and Security Online: Grades 6-8

Check the Privacy Policy

Download Student Sheet(s) for printout in PDF format.

Read a Letter to Educators about Internet safety and security from CyberSmart!

Overview

Students evaluate Web site privacy policies with a checklist based on Federal Trade Commission rules for compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Objectives

Determine whether a site is required to post a children's privacy policy
Analyze privacy notices for compliance with FTC rules

National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007

Source: International Society for Technology in Education

Research and Information Fluency
1. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
Digital Citizenship
1. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.

Home Connection

Download the Home Connection sheet related to this lesson.

Site Preview

The use of these sites is for educational illustration purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation or commercial endorsement. Before using these sites, please evaluate them in light of your school's guidelines about limiting students' exposure to consumer products and advertising. You may want to choose alternate sites to illustrate this lesson.

Materials

Activity Sheets (2, two copies per student)
Online computer access

Introduce (offline)

Ask students for examples of Web sites that request private identity information. Allow volunteers to describe the content of the site, what information was requested, and how they handled the request.
Explain that the United States government passed the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in October, 1998. This law requires site owners to help protect the privacy of kids 13 and younger; they are also required to post and explain the elements of the privacy policy they're using. NOTE: The act required the Federal Trade Commission to create a set of rules to be followed in implementing the law. The checklist in this lesson is based on those rules.

Teach 1 (online)

Distribute one copy of the activity sheets.
Take students to www.becybersmart.org or www.cybersmartcurriculum.org, click on Student Links, and then click on the diamond. Find the title of this lesson, and open its links. Choose a site to explore with the class.
Have students complete the checklist through Question 3. A “yes” response to the first three questions indicates that the site is required to comply with COPPA. If this is the case, have students complete the rest of the checklist, recording how the site complies in the “Details” column.
In addition to the BBB and TRUSTe seals, some Web sites may display the CARU (The Children's Advertising Review Unit) seal from the Council of Better Business Bureaus or the ESRB kids privacy seal from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Point out to students that since anyone can create an official-looking “seal,” it's important to investigate the reliability of the organizations that issue unfamiliar seals.
NOTE: What CyberSmart! calls “private identity information,” others may call “personal information.” CyberSmart! defines private identity information as any information that can be used to discover one's identity. Personal information is defined as any information about the person that cannot be used to discover his or her identity. By reading carefully, students should be able to tell when a privacy policy is referring to information that can be used to identify an individual.

Teach 2 (offline)

Have students look over their completed checklists. Explain that if the answers to Questions 4-17 are “yes,” the site is in compliance with the rules. Additionally, if the answers to Questions 18 and 19 are “yes,” the site is monitored and approved by watchdog organizations.
Point out that, in order to protect their private identity information, students should make a habit of checking the privacy policy at the sites they visit.
Discuss strategies for dealing with a site that asks for more information than students feel comfortable sharing or that does not post a clear policy. Remind students they can leave the site or ask a parent or teacher to contact the site for more information. NOTE: The FTC also provides an online Consumer Complaint Form for adults at www.ftc.gov.

Teach 3 (online)

Distribute a second copy of the activity sheets.
Assign individuals or groups to the remaining sites, have them complete the checklist, and share their results with the class.

Assess (offline)

The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.

Ask: What types of sites are required to post a children's privacy policy? (Sites that are intended for kids 13 and under and that request private identity information.)
Ask: How do you use the CyberSmart! checklist to decide whether a site is following the law? (Answer the first three questions to decide if it must follow the law. If so, check to see if each of the rest of the questions can be answered “yes.”)

Extend (online)

The following activity can be added for students who completed this lesson in a previous grade.

Have students use a copy of the checklist to evaluate sites they enjoy visiting. As they develop a deeper understanding of the intent of COPPA, ask students to comment on how well a site meets the criteria on the checklist.

Cyber Safety and Security Awareness Activities for Your School, Families, and Community

Extend this classroom lesson with activities that will support a cyber safety and security awareness campaign for your school, families, and community.

includes strategies for using interactive online Web 2.0 tools.

CyberSmart! Online Workshops

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