A Gift For Parents This Holiday Season: Help Keep Your Kids Safe Online

If you're like most parents you want to keep your kids safe online. Doing so these days is no easy task and many parents are finding themselves feeling not only overwhelmed by the unknown on the Internet, but also less adept than their children at using the very devices, websites and apps that worry them. CARU is the self-regulatory body for children's advertising. We work to ensure that all advertising to children is truthful, accurate and not deceptive. We also monitor websites online to make sure that they are safe and that they don't violate the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. When we come across something that we think parents may find useful for helping ensure that their kids have a safe online experience, we want to share it!

If you are one of these parents who want to make sure that your kids are making smart and responsible decisions online there is an interesting new resource that helps families do just that. ThinkBeforeYouLink.com offers tools to help you and your kids understand what's lurking on the Internet and become safe digital citizens. There are tons of fun and interactive resources for families to learn how to protect themselves.

There is also a family online safety blog, which offers plenty of tips on what you can do to ensure that your child's experience online is a safe one.

Have a safe and happy holiday season. To learn more about the Children's Advertising Review Unit, visit ASRCReviews.org

Kids Internet Design and Safety Act Seeks to Protect Children from Harmful Online Content

United States Senators, Mr. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut and Mr. Edward Markey from Massachusetts, introduced a new bill referred to as the Kids Internet Design and Safety Act (the “KIDS Act”). One of the Senator’s introducing the KIDS Act, Mr. Edward Markey, was the co-author of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). The KIDS Act seeks to include noteworthy advertising rules and create new protections for children online, specifically for online users under the age of 16. The proposed advertising rules within the KIDS Act are to ban websites from: (1) exposing young online users to advertisements “with embedded interactive elements”; (2) recommending any content involving alcohol, nicotine, or tobacco to young online users; and (3) recommending content that includes influencer marketing, like unboxing videos, or host-selling to young online users. Additionally, the KIDS Act seeks to prohibit certain online features to protect children, like prohibiting...

Advocates believe Kid Influencers Deserve Same Protections as Other Child Stars

Although there are child labor laws in California that are designed to protect child stars from exploitation (The Coogan Act), the same protections don't always apply to child YouTube and Instagram stars, or kid influencers. Kid Influencers accounts are usually run by their parents since platforms like YouTube and Instagram have age limits of 13 years old. One consequence of not owning their accounts is that all profits received go directly to the guardians and, unlike traditional child actors in California, these guardians are not required to set aside some of the profits for the children. Advocates like Paul Petersen, believe the legal protections like those in California should apply to children outside of the state. Petersen has said that because YouTube is in San Bruno, California and they are paying to broadcast children, California law must apply to those child stars. Many guardians of kid influencers feel these regulations are unnecessary and that the guardians are doi...

After Review, CARU Finds Snapchat Compliant with COPPA

In a recent decision, CARU found Snap Inc.’s (Snap) Snapchat app to be compliant with both the CARU Guidelines and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). “The company goes beyond minimal procedures to prevent under-age use” CARU stated. CARU determined that Snapchat is an app directed to a general audience, not intended for use by children. In reaching this conclusion, CARU considered that Snap’s Terms of Service clearly prohibit users under 13 years of age and makes no effort to market the app to children or provide them with an appealing user experience. With that understanding, Snapchat is permitted under the Guidelines and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) to age-gate and block children under 13 from using its services, which it does. CARU then examined whether Snapchat does so effectively. CARU observed that Snapchat utilizes age-gates and many safeguards to ensure that if children manage to breach the existing age-...

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