Got Ads? We control You.

Or at least, that’s what some politicians want you to think. Not to echo the article, but we’ve all seen laws of this sort – attempts to compensate for real problems by putting the burden on organizations instead of where it really lies: on the parents. It seems today that – at least a good portion of – parents and families are afraid of violating their child’s privacy, or of upsetting their child, or just too concerned with being “a friend” and not being a parent. I sometimes wonder exactly what the source of this is, but I digress. I’ll tell you what I learned growing up: You’re not your child’s best friend – sometimes you’re their worst enemy, and until your child reaches the ripe age of 18 and are off to college, they have no privacy (as my Dad was found of saying, “My roof, my rules!”). Despite hating my parents at various points during my teen years, I’ve grown up to respect and love them for having raised me as they did.

The point being, the parents are responsible for policing their child’s online activities. They should know if their child has a myspace page (my Dad knew I was up at 2AM chatting on IRC). They should restrict their child’s use of the internet, and they should keep their child’s computer in an area of the house that is “not private” (read: not their bedroom) where they can be easily watched over. And parents who say they “don’t have the time” are likely not keeping their priorities straight (obviously there are exceptions to the rule).

So instead, we make laws and put the burden of protecting our children on organizations and governments. We try to protect our children through people we don’t know, we can’t necessarily trust, and who certainly do not have any vested interest in our children’s well being (aside from dollar signs – but it’s cheaper to not care). Do I think every parent is a bad parent? No. But we can’t protect children from themselves, or their parents inability to parent, with laws and regulations.

Of course, the implications of what this Attorney General is claiming – that any site with ads is under their authority – are much further reaching, and perhaps I’ll explore them in another post sometime in the future.