Informed citizens sometimes forget that the reason why negative, tragic or just plain-old bad news is news is because it's the exception to the rule. That's why it's newsworthy. And this is true whether we're hearing about airplane crashes or online bullying. Sometimes the news is unspeakably tragic, but it's still the exception, not the rule. It's not an event from which we can extrapolate what … [Read more...] about Factors in good policymaking about youth & digital media
Internet policy
Kids’ & teens’ social networking in Europe
Last week a look at social networking U13s on Facebook in the US; this week, a fascinating, more in-depth look at Europe, thanks to the thorough, recently released pan-European research of EU Kids Online. Though there's a lot of variation country by country, European youth as a whole are just as avid a group of online social networkers as American kids and teens are, if not more so. Among … [Read more...] about Kids’ & teens’ social networking in Europe
FTC’s strong message to social media providers
Via its proposed settlement with Google over its Buzz product's privacy flaws, the Federal Trade Commission just sent the social-media industry a message. Bake user privacy protection into your product development. The Commission's critique of Buzz's launch was detailed, reported Rob Pegoraro at the Washington Post: "If you read through its eight-page complaint, you’ll see a focus on the finer … [Read more...] about FTC’s strong message to social media providers
US schools & libraries not well connected: Commerce Dept.
More than two-thirds of Americans are well connected – to the Internet, that is – but schools and libraries aren't, according to new data from the US Department of Commerce. At least, those important institutions' connections are relatively slow. The department this week unveiled BroadbandMap.gov, a search engine that, when you type in an address, city, county, or zip code, tells you what … [Read more...] about US schools & libraries not well connected: Commerce Dept.