GATINEAU – Canadian families have a new interactive tool that will help parents manage the online risks facing their children.
House Rules, relaunched by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), enables parents to assess how their children spend time and interact online through games, mobile applications and social networking sites as a means of starting a dialogue on safe and responsible digital citizenship.
The tool also offers simple tips parents and children can customize into their very own ‘House Rules’ that can be printed off and posted in a common area as a reminder of how to protect privacy online.
Some examples include:
– If we are uncomfortable with the personal information an app collects, we won't download it. We know our information is valuable and we will think about what we are providing (and why!) before surrendering details just to get an app.
– Just because a game has a privacy policy doesn't mean it won't share my information with other people or companies. When trying out a new game, we will ask a parent or guardian first, and will provide the least information needed in order to create an account. We know our information is valuable.
– Before we post a photo or video with someone else in it, or "tag" a person, we will ask them first. If they say no, we will respect their privacy and not post.
