Protecting Your Child's Privacy Online

The internet can be a wonderful resource for kids. Unfortunately, the internet can also lead to trouble. Keep your child safe online with the following tips.

Make the Internet a Family Affair

• Before letting your kids go online, talk to them to ensure they view safe, appropriate content.
• Visit the internet with your child, especially at first.
• Explain to your kids that they should never give personal information on a website without first getting your permission because it could be dangerous if the wrong person got the information. Personal information includes names, phone numbers, addresses, age or birth date, interests or hobbies, passwords, and credit card numbers.

Privacy Is the Best Policy

• Read the privacy policy on a website before giving up any personal information. Look for how the site will use and protect the personal information. Make sure you trust the site before you let your child spend time on it or give information on it.¹
• California law requires a commercial website that collects personal information to post a privacy policy. The policy must list the kinds of personal information the site collects. It must also share if it sells or shares that information to outside companies for targeted advertising, and the kinds of companies it sells to or shares with. ²
• Under California law, a business can only sell the personal information of a child that they know to be under the age of 16 if they get affirmative authorization (“opt-in”) for the sale of the child’s personal information. For children under the age of 13, that opt-in must come from the child’s parent or guardian. For children who are at least 13 years old but under the age of 16, the opt-in can come from the child. Consumers have the right to change their mind and opt-out of the sale of their personal information.³
• A federal law requires Web sites to have a parent’s permission before collecting any personal information from children under 13.⁴
• You can consent to the collection of your child’s personal information and still say “no” to having the information sold to or shared with a third party.
• Californians can ask a business to tell them the personal information the business has collected about them and how it is used and shared. Californians can also ask the business to delete personal information collected from them.³

Learn More About Online Privacy and Safety

• The California Department of Justice's Online Privacy web page has information on state and federal online privacy laws, tips on reading privacy policies, and useful links to other information.
• The California Department of Justice’s California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) web page has information on how to exercise Californians’ rights under the CCPA, such as the rights to know, delete, and opt-out of sale or sharing of personal information.
• The Federal Trade Commission has information on online privacy for parents, teachers, and kids on their Children’s Privacy web page.
• Find more information on our Online Child Safety web pages.

Notes

¹ See our How to Read a Privacy Policy, available on our Online Privacy web page. Back to link 1

² See the Online Privacy Protection Act, California Business and Professions Code §§ 22575-22579 and the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, California Civil Code §§ 1798.100 et seq. Back to link 2

³ The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, California Civil Code §§ 1798.100 et seq. Back to link 3

⁴ The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, California Civil Code §§ 1798.100 et seq. Back to link 4