Online Predators and Online Privacy

Steven Levy writes about the distorted view of the Internet given by series like "To Catch a Predator" from NBC's Dateline.

Dateline has turned a story about the dangers that kids may encounter online into a Reality TV cash cow.

There's no question that there are creeps trolling the Internet hoping to sexually exploit children.

BUT, as Levy points out:

House calls from predators don't happen spontaneously when your kid does homework on Google or hangs out solely with buddies on MySpace.com. (After some alleged cases in which teenagers unwisely got together with adults they met on the service, MySpace introduced new protections last week, making it tougher for strangers to contact minors.) NBC does its investigations with a watchdog group that supplies decoys who pose as minors hanging out in unmoderated, all-access, regional chat rooms and gay chat rooms on AOL and Yahoo—hot spots for hookups. The predators make the first approach. After explicitly sexual conversation, decoys direct the would-be abusers to the camera-ready houses. Then it's showtime.

"No one's arguing that the Internet is evil," Hansen says. "But talking about strangers is another conversation you have to have with your kids." No argument there, but by showing hour after hour of those creepy predators, it's easy to lose one's sense of proportion.

Exactly. The idea that there's a predator around every cyber corner has been magnified to unrealistic proportions.

Let's get a grip here.

First, it's the parents' responsibility to discuss the dangers of Internet predators with their children.

An important rule for parents to establish with their kids: DON'T ENGAGE IN SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONVERSATIONS ON THE INTERNET.

Another rule: DO NOT PUT PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON OPEN INTERNET FORUMS.

Second, I expect law enforcement to go after and arrest Internet predators. I'm not denying that the practice of child molesters finding victims online is an extremely disturbing problem, nor am I diminishing the need to tackle it.

However, for programs like Dateline to turn the sting operations into "must-see TV" is a cheap move. The sleaze factor there is very high. In a sense, they are engaging in their own exploitation of the phenomena to make ratings and a fast buck.

Then, Levy goes on to discuss what he views as an overreaction by the government.

In the name of protecting children, Congress has passed laws that could limit speech for all Web sites (so far the courts have struck down those laws). More recently, the government has suggested that to police the Web it might be necessary to require Internet service providers to store data about the online peregrinations of their customers, potentially compromising everyone's privacy.

I agree that the need to protect children and the right to privacy needs to be balanced.

Levy is correct in his assertion that voyeuristic "news" stories have blown the problem out of proportion. It's no surprise that opportunistic officials have eagerly jumped on the issue to score political points.

In my opinion, a major step in putting the predators out of business is good parenting.

TELL YOUR CHILDREN NOT TO ENGAGE IN INAPPROPRIATE AND SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CHATS ONLINE.

AND TELL THEM TO NEVER, NEVER ARRANGE TO MEET A STRANGER.

In terms of privacy rights, law enforcement already has the tools to track suspected child molesters and kiddie porn consumers.

If law enforcement has reason to suspect you of wrongdoing on the Internet, you've relinquished your right to privacy and you should be tracked. The public has the right to be protected from the bad guys. That's simple enough.

Beyond the issues of child predators, I do think it's important to note something else regarding privacy and Internet usage. This applies to anyone, adults as well as children.

There is a false sense of anonymity online. The fact is private entities track your Internet activities all the time. Tons of traceable information are stored.

I think that Levy goes astray when he implies that it's the government that is trying to pry into your activities, as if the enemy of privacy is solely the big, bad government looking to find ways to tread on your civil liberties.

That's not true.

Levy completely overlooks the privacy abuses of private corporations.

For example, you may voluntarily provide personally identifying information because you believe that information is protected under the guidelines of a corporation's privacy policy.

You may later discover that employees of that corporation knowingly disregarded policy and distributed your information to third parties resulting in damaging consequences.

I know for a fact that happens.

While Levy chooses to focus on the government, concerns about Internet privacy go far beyond just governmental agencies.

In sum, two things--

• Parents should take responsibility to teach their children to enjoy what the Internet offers. They should tell their kids to immediately inform them of any inappropriate behavior they encounter online.

• When it comes to privacy and your personally identifying information, DO NOT assume that PRIVATE corporations are upholding their stated privacy policies.