Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

It is really sad that Google can't figure out a way for those under 13 to have accounts, provided there is a parent signing off on it. And the first comment by someone about how their child can't log onto their Chromebook anymore is particularly disturbing.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#5

Post by RexRollman » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:28 PM UTC

cma wrote: post #3

chromebook: 13 and up

I have to wonder if anyone at Google even thought about the repercussions of that.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#6

Post by jamesgagan » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:28 PM UTC

i'd be interested to see if this got enough +1's if it would show up in the "What's hot on Google+" section.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#7

Post by quanticle » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:31 PM UTC

To be honest, I think a large part of the blame goes to COPPA. I remember listening on those hearings, and those opposed to COPPA warned against this exact thing happening. They said that taking the decision away from parents would lead to disaster, and guess what, it has.

Rather than blaming Google here, shouldn't we be writing our legislators to repeal COPPA? We should be telling them that this misguided law is starting to intrude onto the choices that parents make when raising their children, and that it should be repealed immediately. As long as COPPA exists, we'll see more and more stories like this.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#8

Post by artursapek » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:35 PM UTC

RexRollman wrote: post #4

It is really sad that Google can't figure out a way for those under 13 to have accounts, provided there is a parent signing off on it. And the first comment by someone about how their child can't log onto their Chromebook anymore is particularly disturbing.

"Log onto our website, but only with your parents' permission!" died quickly a decade ago for a reason. There's virtually no way of validating that. Which is why I'm still surprised that movie and video game sites still use the faded "Enter your age to continue" screen.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#9

Post by 1010011010 » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:35 PM UTC

quanticle wrote: post #7

To be honest, I think a large part of the blame goes to COPPA. I remember listening on those hearings, and those opposed to COPPA warned against this exact thing happening. They said that taking the decision away from parents would lead to disaster, and guess what, it has . Rather than blaming Google here, shouldn't we be writing our legislators to repeal COPPA? We should be telling them that this misguided law is st…

COPPA is fucking stupid legislation, but Google should at least provide a "parental consent" mechanism.

Re: Hey Google, thanks for making my daughter cry.

#10

Post by thenextcorner » Sun, Dec 11, 2011, 7:36 PM UTC

This is why you should take control of your own data, and not let your data in the hands of a company. Buy your own email address, set up your own blog self hosted.