• Responsible Use
  • Parents/Legal Guardians
  • Facts and Surveys
  • Multimedia
• Responsible Driving
  • Industry Initiatives
  • Multimedia
• Responsible Environment
  • Industry Initiatives
  • Multimedia
• Multimedia
• Glossary of Terms
• Resources
  • Additional Resources
  • Parental Toolkit

Policymakers

Background
What We’re Doing
Children’s Wireless Privacy
Who We’re Working With/Programs We Support
What You can Do to Help

Whether you’re a parent or someone just trying to “keep up”, you already know that today’s children are a technology savvy generation who are adopting digital and mobile technologies at a spectacularly fast rate.  The wireless industry offers innovative and beneficial tools to help adults and children in many ways, such as education, healthcare, safety or accessibility.  In short, the ability to have the mobile Internet anywhere and anytime offers substantial and personalized benefits for everyone and everywhere.

Still, much more can be done at the state and federal levels to ensure all children are prepared and are participating in the increasingly high-tech and mobile future. For example:

• Encourage schools to review and update existing technology policies to integrate mobile technologies and educational applications. 
• Support the use of mobile devices by educators as an additional platform for communicating with students. Ideas include permitting the use of educational funds for distributing assignments and other content directly to mobile devices; incorporating mobile “voting” and response activities in the classroom; and developing audio recordings, videocasts, podcasts or similar tools to assist homebound and ill students.
• Work with state and federal agencies to encourage librarians and teachers to utilize handheld devices and digital downloads to expand the reach of school libraries.
• Modify the E-Rate, Lifeline, Link-Up and state-based universal service programs to maximize opportunities for wireless broadband and mobile applications that otherwise fit within the scope of these programs.

While the benefits of wireless are infinite, we also recognize some might use the technology in an irresponsible or inappropriate manner.

Together with kids, expert educators, parents, our members and The Wireless Foundation, CTIA has developed this website to help parents locate and utilize the tools and information necessary to ensure their children are responsible wireless users. We believe an educated parent/legal guardian will lead to kids who behave in a smart, safe, fair and responsible manner. 

While you might find the “Parents/Legal Guardian” section helpful, we also want to provide specific information for policymakers.

Even though this campaign was launched in March 2010, CTIA and our members have been working for years to educate consumers about responsible wireless use.  In fact, in a national consumer study conducted in March 2009, MyWireless.Org® found that the majority of respondents – 62 percent – were aware that wireless carriers offer parental controls that allow parents to restrict a child’s cell phone use and place limits on a child’s wireless Internet access, texting and downloads.

Background

In response to demand by the government and consumers for open access, open devices and greater broadband connectivity on handsets, carriers have moved away from the “walled garden” approach, which offered consumers carrier provider-reviewed services and protected consumers, including children, from what some might think is objectionable content and online activities.

Today, wireless carriers have limited oversight abilities for the content consumers might access on their networks in the “open” mobile wireless ecosystem. Instead, numerous entities compete in the wireless ecosystem to create, distribute and manage content that are accessible for all consumers, including children.

While these technological advancements have opened doors for positive educational and social interactions, we have also witnessed children engaging in irresponsible or inappropriate behavior on mobile devices and services.

Protecting children in these online and mobile environments is a challenging task for the industry, government and – especially – parents. Despite the challenges, the wireless industry continues to respond with effective, innovative solutions to empower parents with choice and control over the mobile content and services their children increasingly utilize.

What We’re Doing

The wireless industry provides parents/legal guardians with individualized control and filter options.  To learn more about what’s available, please visit the Parent Toolkit section.

Consumers can also independently download third-party solutions to their wireless devices through app stores, website and other outlets, opening up a host of additional content management tools for parents.

Here are some of the voluntary initiatives CTIA’s members have taken to help empower parents/legal guardians:

1. Guidelines for Carrier Content Classification and Internet Access – Since 2004, many of our member companies adhere to a voluntary framework for parental empowerment tools which are based on content classification standards designed to educate consumers with the tools they need to make informed choices when accessing content using a wireless handset.
2. Best Practices and Guidelines for Location-Based Services – As innovative Location-Based Services (LBS) are developed and deployed, CTIA and our members developed these guidelines to ensure consumer privacy is protected.  Under these guidelines, a wireless carrier might offer the account holder (i.e. parent/legal guardian) the ability to determine whether LBS may be used at all or disclosed to a third-party. For example, a parent/account holder might want to subscribe to LBS to know when a child arrives at school or might want to prevent the disclosure of a child’s location information for safety reasons.
3. Best Practices and Guidelines for Mobile Financial Services – Recognizing the vast potential for mCommerce, CTIA and our members developed these guidelines to foster an environment where mobile transactions are authorized and secure with regulatory and legal requirements.  For parents, these best practices require mCommerce providers to offer age-restricted products to include clear and conspicuous warnings and verification/age-screening before authorizing purchases.
4. Common Short Code (CSC) Auditing and Monitoring Initiative – Wireless subscribers send text messages to common short codes (CSC) to access a wide variety of mobile content for delivery to their wireless devices. In order to ensure promotional materials used to market short codes comply with industry best practices, CTIA provides wireless operators with an ongoing monitoring and assessment process over third-party content providers’ compliance with best practices. This initiative is intended to offer parents and children greater protection from non-compliant marketers.

Other industry organizations have developed tools to help the industry empower parents/legal guardians and protect children as they access content on mobile devices.

• The Mobile Marketing Association has released a set of Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for mobile marketers, which provide detailed guidance covering a broad range of issues and include a dedicated section on marketing to children.
• TRUSTe has developed a specialized Children’s Privacy Seal to assist parents and ensure child safety.  The Seal certifies that a website is compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and is “child-friendly.” Participants in the Seal program, moreover, must open themselves up to TRUSTe’s ongoing site monitoring and dispute resolution program.

Children's Wireless Privacy

Americans love wireless. We are using it more than ever before to call, text, search, update social networks, play games, listen to music and more. This also means that consumers, including children, are increasingly sharing their information across wireless networks.

Previously, carriers offered a “walled garden” approach that protected consumers and children from objectionable content. Today, carriers have limited oversight since networks are open. As a result, children may be exposed to much of the same content that is available on the open Internet, but not intended for them.

To address these issues, the wireless industry has taken numerous steps to provide parents with choice and control over the content their children see and the information they send. CTIA has created four simple tips for parents to help protect their children’s privacy.

Wireless carriers comply with federal (e.g. FCC and FTC) and state privacy laws (e.g. state Attorneys General). Wireless services that offer access to the open Internet and most websites are covered by the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Regulation (COPPA) rule, which protects children under 13 from receiving advertisements without parental consent.

CTIA has worked with our members to develop several best practices and guidelines to ensure consumers’ information, including children, are protected when using a wireless device.

• Consumer Code for Wireless Service requires wireless carriers to commit to complying with federal and state privacy laws and making privacy policies publicly available.
• Best Practices and Guidelines for Location-Based Services promote and protect user privacy as new Location-Based Services (LBS) are developed and deployed.
• Best Practices and Guidelines for Mobile Financial Services fosters an environment to authorize and secure transactions to comply with applicable laws.

Other wireless industry self-regulatory efforts have proven to be useful models to promote privacy practices while preserving the competitive landscape. For example, TRUSTe offers a Children’s Privacy Seal that certifies a website’s compliance with COPPA. The Mobile Marketing Association has developed the Mobile Privacy Guidelines to ensure marketers provide notice, choice and consent, customization, security and enforcement.

Who We’re Working With/Programs We Support

• Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) – The Wireless Foundation presently holds a seat on the board of FOSI, a Washington-based, international organization whose mission is to identify best practices for online safety by bringing together the online industry, government, non-government organizations, academics and other interested parties. In April 2009, The Wireless Foundation and FOSI co-sponsored the Wireless Online Safety: Keeping Kids Safe in a Mobile Environment conference, which focused on wireless-specific aspects of online safety such as mobility and location-based services.
• Wireless AMBER Alerts – Together with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the wireless industry, Wireless AMBER Alerts send wireless subscribers free text messages when an alert has been issued in their area. The text message includes vital information so subscribers can help law enforcement in the search for abducted children.
• Wireless Child Safety Task Force – In 2008, CTIA and industry representatives, working with NCMEC, created the Wireless Child Safety Task Force to address broader child safety issues arising from the use of wireless networks and services.  The Task Force identifies, reviews and supports actions that can further deter child pornography on wireless networks, including efforts to develop solutions that can be lawfully executed while safeguarding consumer privacy.
• National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Online Safety and Technology Working Group – Established under Section 214 of the “Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act,” a CTIA representative has been appointed to the group to provide and receive important insights about efforts that should be taken to ensure that children have safe online experiences.

What You Can Do to Help

These are just some of the many industry-wide initiatives and actions the wireless industry has supported and taken to demonstrate our commitment to protecting children and empowering parents with “choice and control.”  In addition, policymakers can help to facilitate these initiatives without the need for prescriptive regulatory requirements.

We believe that regulators at all levels of government should help educate parents and children regarding responsible mobile device practices. For example, parents, schools, libraries, community centers and organizations that regularly interface with children can promote mobile media literacy, similar to how we teach kids about responsible online practices, financial habits, safety and emergency preparedness, health education and other subjects.

CTIA and the wireless industry encourage more state and federal agencies to support the Adolescent Web Awareness Requires Education Act (AWARE Act). This Congressional proposal would promote online safety education through government grants to educational agencies, nonprofit organizations and schools to carry out Internet crime awareness and cybercrime prevention programs. Grant recipients would be authorized to use the funds for identifying, developing and implementing programs, providing professional training to teachers and school personnel on cybercrime awareness and prevention and coordinating and funding research to investigate online risks to children.

Finally, CTIA and the wireless industry are working with several states, through their attorneys general, as they take an active role in online safety.  To build on these successful efforts, we recommend state and federal agencies coordinate with state attorneys general on future efforts or campaigns to educate parents and children on responsible use.

Here are a few examples:

The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)

• During his term as NAAG’s president, Rhodes Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch’s Presidential Initiative Summit in 2008-2009 was "Year of the Child: Protecting and Empowering Our Next Generation."
• In May 2009, AG Lynch hosted a two-day summit with state attorneys general, corporate and association representatives and other stakeholders in Philadelphia to "address strategies to empower children and their parents on the safe use of online technology."
• CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent delivered remarks at the Summit where he announced another step in the wireless industry’s efforts to educate parents about wireless online safety. CTIA developed six simple tips for parents to start the discussion with their kids about their behavior in a mobile environment using the word "SAFETY" as an acronym. The SAFETY Tips were distributed as an informative pocket-guide.

Illinois

• November 2009, the Illinois Attorney General held a Cyber Safety Summit to bring "together state and local law enforcement officials, school officials and technology industry experts to discuss youth cyber safety and identify strategies to combat the dangers that come with children and teens’ widespread access to online and mobile technologies.”
• The Illinois Attorney General also introduced a Stop Cyberbullying website to provide more information to parents, children and others about cyberbullying, including news, frequently asked questions and phone- and web-based hotline resources.

Kansas

• In October  2009 , the Attorneys General Steve Six (Kansas) and Chris Koster (Missouri) hosted a Midwest Region National Association of Attorneys General Conference on parental controls.
• As a participant, CTIA highlighted the wireless industry’s parental and content control tools and consumer education initiatives. Attending state attorneys general have cited the success of the conference in generating awareness for the wireless industry’s efforts and representing the industry’s willingness to collaborate with the state attorneys general.

Missouri

• See Kansas.

Wisconsin

• The Wisconsin Attorney General held a public safety summit in October 2009 that included a “Digital Dangers” component encompassing cyberbullying and sexting.