FTC Offers Tips on How Kids Can Safely Use Mobile Devices

“Talk to your kids about your rules for when and where it's appropriate to use their phones,” FTC Consumer and Business Education Division Counsel Carol Kando-Pineda wrote in a blog post Monday. Before giving children a mobile phone, decide whether they need one designed for children that has features like limited Internet access, minute management, number privacy and emergency buttons, Kando-Pineda said. Advise kids to use features like GPS technology revealing their location sparingly “and only with friends they know in person and trust,” she said. “Encourage them to think about their privacy and get the okay of the photographer or the person in the shot before posting videos or photos,” Kando-Pineda said. “It could be embarrassing and even unsafe,” she said. “Filters you've installed on your home computer won't limit what kids can do on a phone.”