Your Virtual Papers, Please

[madmusic]

I'm happy to be a member of a recently formed Internet Safety Technical Task Force, but it has caused me to feel a bit of a disconnect. One of the major goals of the task force is to explore whether it's possible to use technology to verify the age of people signing up for social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to give parents more control over whether their kids can use these services and to avoid inappropriate online contact between kids and adults. Yet, the first four experts to address the task force painted a picture that causes me to wonder if such technology would be helpful even if it could be employed.
.....

The task force's main mandate is to explore age-verification technology that would make it a lot harder to claim you're 14 when you're actually 12 or that you're 17 when you're really 40. Social networks have age restrictions (typically kids have to be at least in their teens) but they now rely on user-supplied birth dates.

Some attorneys general want to see the electronic equivalent of showing an ID at the door. There are companies represented on the task force with tools that might be able to accomplish this including Aristotle, IDology and Sentinel Tech. But Sentinel Chief Executive John Cardillo told me age- and identity-verification schemes typically rely on credit reports and other data that is accessible for most adults but generally not available for people under 17. One could, in theory, access school, birth or Social Security records, but for a variety of good reasons, these databases are off-limits to private entities.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/technology/ci_9156620

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Just like the author I am conflicted

kids don't belong on some of these sites, PERIOD

But how do you keep them out of there and chiefly safe?

[madmusic]

2. Good question

There are parental controls like firewalls and routers that can block IPs, or there is OpenDNS.com that has parental controls built in at the DNS level.

Most kids would have to teach their parents how to use this stuff and could easily get around it if they try.

But as the article says, the danger is blown out of proportion. Is it possible http://www.salemnews.com/puopinion/local_story_126065632.html">We're turning into a nation of hysterics?

When Chris Hansen testified before Congress, he suggested parental controls at home, but I don't know.

I'm pretty sure the real goal of some politicians is control of the 'Net.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Some politicos do want to control the net

since places like DU, NOT Facebook, are more dangerous to the status quo

But as I said I am conflicted... alas that is the reason

Hell, my niece MIGHT be able to go around all the controls I now regularly set up when she comes visit... and I mean the MIGHT Part

We give kids way too much credit. There are some who are very technologically savy, but I am sure she's not one of them... alas neither are her parents... who could not use Word competently even if their live depended on it, let alone setting a DNS block

[madmusic]

3. Another link

If that link isn't working (doesn't for me) try this re-post of the article http://pcanswer.com/2008/05/05/245/">Verifying age online doesn’t solve all problems.