Kids as young as four years old know how to play games on their parents’ smartphone or tablet, and some even have their own social network profiles.  Not really a big deal for some, especially those who don’t have kids, but this is something that we should all be concerned about.  Kids are a tabula rasa; they easily pick up anything you teach them, like the password for their profile or the username and password when downloading an app. And once they easily get the hang of things, they explore beyond what you teach them.  This could be problematic because sooner or later, you may find your kid already chatting with other players who may be predators/sex offenders/pedophiles.  These types of people may pretend to be the same age as your kid or pretend to be a helpful adult, but they can manipulate your child into giving out private information.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA protects kids’ privacy online.  App developers should provide proper notice and obtain parental consent before collecting or disclosing kids’ personal info.  In May 2011, Playdom, makers of 2 Moons, 9 Dragons, and My Diva Doll, paid $3 million to settle charges filed against them by the Federal Trade Commission for illegally collecting information from children ages 13 and below which they exposed online.

But games and apps developers don’t seemed fazed, as the parent company of Broken Thumbs Apps, W3 Innovations, violated the same rule as they illegally gathered information from users aged 13 years and under, and exposing information details without parental consent.  They are set to settle a $50,000 fine with the FTC and to delete all personal information collected from their database that violates the COPPA rules.

“The FTC’s COPPA Rule requires parental notice and consent before collecting children’s personal information online, whether through a website or a mobile app,” said  Chairman Jon Leibowitz.  “Companies must give parents the opportunity to make smart choices when it comes to their children’s sharing of information on smart phones.”

The FTC filed the lawsuit on Friday, and the verdict was laid down Monday.  W3 Innovations allegedly collected, maintained, and/or disclosed personal information that was entered into its various kid-targeted app like the games created by Broken Thumbs Apps’ Emily’s Closet.  Though parents’ accounts are used in downloading apps, before one can start playing the game, you are asked to enter your name.  As an adult, we rarely use our real names for things like this, but kids are honest and they will put their real name on their profile.  And game users are encouraged to leave comments about the apps that require additional information, like an e-mail addresses, further exposing kids’ identity to anyone.

Children accessing the internet for educational or entertainment purposes have skyrocketed since the law was first passed.  The internet has notably changed as well, and using these apps on a mobile device could actually give information about your location to game developers.  Though game developers may argue that the use of this information is for demographic and statistics purposes, one cannot dismiss the fact that these vital information can also do harm if that data is ever compromised.

“Since COPPA was signed into law in 1998, children increasingly connect to the Internet on the go, using an array of mobile apps and new services that did not exist when the law was enacted,” US Representative Ed Markey said in a statement.

“Earlier this year, I introduced the ‘Do Not Track Kids Act’ with Congressman Joe Barton to bring COPPA up to date and add additional safeguards for teens. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move forward our bipartisan bill so that we can provide strong protections for children and teens, enabling them to learn, communicate and enjoy entertainment in a safe online environment.”

We can’t just rely on the law to protect our kids.  As parents, we should be aware of what our kids are up to, not so much as invading their privacy but letting them know that though the internet may be helpful, it can also be harmful.   And that if they encounter anything unusual or creepy while using the internet, they shouldn’t keep it a secret and they should tell their parents about it.