Mozilla Politics
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Parents want to keep their kids safe online. But are parental controls the answer? [Ed: Mozilla used to be fine engineers, now it's wannabe politicians]
For our new series Parental Control, we’re digging into the challenges technology poses for parents and exploring all the ways that can empower them. So we looked into digital platforms and found ourselves, as many parents do, in the parental control settings.
These settings, along with services that promise to shield young people away from “inappropriate” content, can give families comfort in the face of the infinite feed. They let adults limit screen time and restrict mature content (although the way platforms identify what that means is far from perfect). But it is not so simple as setting up the parental control settings and walking away. It’s important for parents to both understand their kids’ behaviors, and explain to them why they’re using parental controls.
The capabilities of these tools, as well as their shortcomings, led us to question the very name of our series: In a world where technology’s hold over everything we do seems uncontrollable, what does parental control even mean?
Jenny Radesky, who studies the intersections of child development, parenting and technology at the University of Michigan, takes issue with the phrase itself.
Mozilla Open Policy & Advocacy Blog: Mozilla submits comments in OSTP consultation on privacy-preserving data sharing [Ed: Such data should not be collected or shared. Mozilla is just another GAFAM drone now, posturing while spying.]
Earlier this month, the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) asked stakeholders to contribute to the development of a national strategy for “responsibly harnessing privacy-preserving data sharing and analytics to benefit individuals and society.” This effort offers a much-needed opportunity to advance privacy in online advertising, an industry that has not seen improvement in many years.
In our comments, we set out the work that Mozilla has undertaken over the past decade to shape the evolution of privacy preserving advertising, both in our products, and in how we engage with regulators and standards bodies.