Protecting Children’s Privacy at Home, at School, and Everywhere in Between
Summary
Young people today face surveillance unlike any previous generation, at home, at school, and everywhere in between. Constant use of technology while their brains are still developing makes them uniquely vulnerable to privacy harms, including identity theft, cyberbullying, physical risks, algorithmic labeling, and hyper-commercialism. A lack of privacy can ultimately lead children to self-censor and can limit their opportunities. Already-vulnerable populations—who have fewer resources, less digital literacy, or are non-native English speakers—are most at risk.
Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have repeatedly considered efforts to better protect children’s privacy, but the next administration must ensure that this is a priority that is actually acted upon by supporting strong privacy laws and providing additional resources and authority to the FTC and support to the Department of Education (ED). The Biden-Harris administration should also establish a task force to explore how to best support and protect students. And the FTC should use its current authority to increase its understanding of the children’s technology market and robustly enforce a strong Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) rule.
A supply-side tax credit (STC) could offer a tax incentive to material suppliers and professional service consultants that provide goods or services to affordable housing projects.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Commerce, and Department of Transportation should jointly develop and manage a data resource—a Housing Production Dashboard—to track housing production within and across states.
Exempting affordable housing from volume caps would address the underlying issue and have the greatest impact in this housing emergency.
The U.S. should establish a national housing loss rate to stand alongside the national unemployment rate as a key indicator of social and economic well-being.