Parents + Ping + Privacy. Apple Fail!
Submitted by Smartphone Mom on 3 September, 2010 - 20:19
Just a reminder to all you moms. If you're like our family, your children may very well have their own iTunes account. Ours do, which we fund through iTunes cards or email gift receipts. You can also have parental controls.
However, so far, I've not seen anything on the new Apple iTunes 'Ping' service that helps put parents in front of their children. When your children go onto iTunes now, they are presented with the option of activating Ping -- and "following" friends, musicians, rock bands, celebrities and anyone else. However, your children can very easily select the button that lets others follow them: their name, their location (!) and their purchases. Their entire profile!
Only after I clicked on the Ping button did I realize just how much information our children could be turning over to strangers, every single day! Make sure your children don't give strangers all this information.
Yes, I'm very upset with Apple over this!!
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I sent an email to Steve
Submitted by brian s hall on 4 September, 2010 - 20:38.No response.
Maybe I should have sent it via my iPhone?
Update
Submitted by brian s hall on 3 September, 2010 - 23:38.A writer for GigaOm dismissed these concerns:
http://gigaom.com/2010/09/03/ping-is-neither-social-nor-is-it-a-network-...
Brian, it depends on what you mean by “children” since the iTunes TOS clearly states:
“This Service is available for individuals aged 13 years or older. If you are 13 or older but under the age of 18, you should review this Agreement with your parent or guardian to make sure that you and your parent or guardian understand it.”
If they are younger than 13, you’ve already violated the TOS. My kids don’t have their own accounts, which is why Ping decided I “liked” Hannah Montana.
It’s up to the parents to supervise what kids are doing online. Ping has three settings for following: let anyone follow, require approval for following, and let no one follow.
Kids are going to be kids, and mine know if they mess with the privacy settings (I check on them on an irregular basis so they never know when it’s coming and don’t have time to react), they lose computer time.
Ping makes it so hard to share information outside of discussion around a posted/liked/purchased song or album that it’s not even in my top 50 concerns when it comes to the kids’ online privacy.
I responded only my comment hasn't shown up yet. Will keep you informed. I do not believe the writer considers this as serious as we. Do note, however, that you must get to page 4 of 13 (none of which you know you have ever read), where it the Terms of Service discuss Ping (which I have summarized and highlighted):
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/cafr/terms.html
If you opt in to Ping, you can share information with people who have also opted in to Ping, such as your name, your image, and your interests. The name and image provided will also be associated with all reviews posted about a Product via your Account, including posts prior to opting in. People whom you have permitted to follow you will be able to see your activity on iTunes, such as events you are attending, music that you have indicated that you like, and purchases made with your Account.
You are solely responsible for the information that is associated with your Account that is made available on Ping. You should not opt in to Ping, or should opt out of Ping in your Account settings if you don't want others to view any information provided using your Account, including activity on iTunes. When you opt out, your information will be removed from view, and then deleted after seven days. Please take extra care when using these features.
Meh. As parents we have likely checked the iTunes ToS at some point. As recently as, again, yesterday? When our children's iTunes was again updated by Apple? Really? And the fact is, Apple knows that millions of children have iTunes accounts and that the parents of these millions of children with iTunes accounts are fine with them purchasing music and video via iTunes.
Do they know now that when their child goes on to iTunes today, they will be presented with this new Ping button? That Ping will then offer what is essentially a binary choice: do you want others to follow (share your musical tastes) or not? How many milions of children will agree to be followed?
Not good on Apple's part.
Let's hope Apple responds to this
Submitted by brian s hall on 3 September, 2010 - 20:24.Seems like a major oversight if true given how many children have iTunes accounts.