Spies in Your Stocking: Privacy, Smart Toys and the Internet of Things
This year, it may not just be Santa Claus who sees your kids when they're sleeping and knows when they're awake: one of the hottest trends this season is so-called "smart toys", which use the Internet to hold artificially intelligent conversations with kids while they play. Last year's Hello Barbie, one of the first to use this technology, was found to have a number of major security flaws -- including automatically connecting the mobile device to which it was tethered to any Wi-Fi network with "Barbie" in its name. Now two more toys, a doll called My Friend Cayla and the i-Que Intelligent Robot, have been found to collect data in ways that are far more worrying.
Promoting Ethical Online Behaviours with Your Kids
Most kids live as much of their lives online as they do offline. But on the Internet there are lots of moral and ethical choices that don’t have to be made offline. These tips lay out ways you can help your children develop a moral compass to guide them through those choices.
Getting the goods ethically
One of the most common ethical decisions kids face online relates to how they access and use content like music, games and videos. We can help kids make better choices by teaching them about the issue: in one study, one-quarter of young people said that they would stop accessing content illegally if it was more clear what was legal and what wasn’t.
On The Loose: A Guide to Life Online For Post-Secondary Students
On the Loose: A Guide to Online Life for Post-Secondary Students supports young adults who are experiencing both new freedoms and challenges in their post- secondary life.
Keeping It Private Online
Recently, my nephew, age 12, received a letter in the mail. It was addressed to him personally, by name. Inside was a photocopied article about the powers of a new virility medicine, complete with the usual graphic promises for pleasuring the ladies. The article mentioned a specific “doctor” by name, but other than that, there was no contact information or order form or any other action request. It appeared to just be spam but in paper form.