Today's decision by the US Supreme Court sent a clear message about the importance of context for making decisions about what we see online. It was bad news for victims of online harassment and their advocates but good news for parents of kids not thinking about the impact of their online speech and actions. "The Supreme Court ruled in favor of "a Pennsylvania man who posted several violent … [Read more...] about Supreme Court decision & our kids: About context not free speech
Law & Policy
‘State of the Union’ & the student part of student privacy protection
There's a lot of confusion in the air about student data privacy, and some widely quoted words about it from President Obama in his address Tuesday night didn't help (but I suspect his speechwriters were just looking for a spot to put a high-priority topic into "a simple, dramatic message about economic fairness," as the New York Times put it: "No foreign nation, no hacker should be able to … [Read more...] about ‘State of the Union’ & the student part of student privacy protection
So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
It's interesting to see headlines like "Snapchat photo leak shows users' mistake was trusting each other." That was the takeaway from a commentator in the Los Angeles Times. But the real takeaway should be: Don't trust unauthorized third-party apps that claim to enhance or add convenience to your social media apps. At least, if you really want to use one, look into how it works and what it does … [Read more...] about So-called Snapchat hack & the question of where to place trust
Virginia teen sexting case: (Somewhat) reduced injustice
It was a picture-perfect example of how a law intended to protect children can be used to victimize them. But the juvenile judge didn't comment on the perversion of justice – or the prosecution's victimization of a teenager by ordering police to photograph the boy's genitals and threatening even more abusive treatment. He just eased the punishment meted out to the boy (his girlfriend was not … [Read more...] about Virginia teen sexting case: (Somewhat) reduced injustice
Proposed ‘rightful’ framework for Internet safety
Internet safety is a basic right of Internet users. But it's not the only one. There are other fundamental rights that Net users of all ages have, and I propose that Internet safety will actually serve all Internet users better – and have much more relevance to the younger ones in our homes and schools – when we put it in context, in a framework of online rights. It's a framework for all users' … [Read more...] about Proposed ‘rightful’ framework for Internet safety