Guided Writing Activity
Directions: The
following editorial contains blanks. You must finish the sentence by
filling in the blanks with however you want to finish the sentence.
Remember, editorials use several nouns and adjectives. Please be sure
to include a total of four nouns and two adjectives.
Kids Under 13 are Already Allowed on Facebook
By Tony Bradley
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg has sparked a minor
controversy by suggesting that children under 13 should be allowed to
join social networking sites.
As
is stands, the Facebook terms of service dictate that members be at
least 13 years old to set up an account. However, a recent Consumer
Reports survey indicates that as many as 7.5 million Facebook users
are
Facebook
is a great way for kids to stay in touch with friends, grandparents, or
cousins that live across the country. Sure, there are many other ways-
email, instant messaging, video chat, etc.- to accomplish the same
thing, but Facebook is different. Rather than having to initiate one on
one communication, Facebook lets kids simply share
Zuckerburg seemed to imply that the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act (COPPA) is preventing Facebook from allowing children to
join, and suggested that Facebook might one day take on the challenge
of changing the rules. COPPA
puts protections in place that require a site operator to obtain
verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing any
personal information related to the child. It doesn't ban such
activity. It just means that Facebook would have to make a reasonable
effort to ensure that a parent or guardian is aware that the child is
joining Facebook, and that the parent or guardian grants permission for
information to be collected and shared. Facebook should develop more protection. It should provide controls so that only parents can
In
the end, Facebook is far less shady than a lot of other online websites
that kids can get to just fine without parental consent. Facebook can
be a positive thing if parents use caution and monitor their child
while using it.
