Tyler Jones, who began using Discord when he was 15, sums up the platform’s appeal to teens and young adults this way: “It’s fast, it’s reliable, it’s easy to use, and it offers so many features, like video calling, screen sharing and presenting, and customizations, that other sites don’t have for free.”

More than anything, Discord helps facilitate socialization among peers, especially in times when it’d be otherwise impossible to do so in-person.

“I’ve known a lot of young adults my age struggle socially, especially in a time like now, and have found Discord as a comforting place to make friends and keep up with them,” Jones said.

If you’re intrigued about Discord, the following will help you learn the basics about Discord, including how you can make sure your kids stay safe while navigating the platform.

What is Discord?

Discord is a free communications platform that lets users text, talk, video chat, and share screens with one another. It was initially used largely by gamers, but it’s since spread to other groups thanks to its ease-of-use and wide variety of useful functions, including to host book clubs, knitting groups, sewing circles, and all manner of gatherings, both personal and professional.

How is Discord Different from Other Social Media Platforms?

One of Discord’s biggest differentiators is that it has no ads. Discord also says it does not sell user data or share its data with third parties for advertising purposes, although it does offer a subscription that offers users various enhancements to the Discord experience.  And unlike many social media platforms, there’s no news feed.

Users can also engage with either public or private spaces. As implied by the name, the public servers (communities organized around a specific topic or group) are accessible to anyone, meaning whatever your kids post can be seen by anyone that happens across that space. Meanwhile, private servers are only accessible to approved users, giving your kids the opportunity to set up their own servers for people they know, or joining their friends’ servers.

This makes Discord a more personally curated platform.

Discord’s Vocabulary

Discord can be tricky for the uninitiated. Thankfully, there’s a glossary, as well as numerous beginner’s guides, including an official guide from Discord, an unofficial guide from PCWorld, and a manual put together by M.I.T. students on how to use Discord to collaborate with classmates on projects.

Some terms you may hear are:

• Server: Spaces where users can gather and communicate. Servers can be started by communities and friend groups and can be either public (meaning anyone can join) or invitation only. Any user can start a new server for free.
• Channel: Servers are organized into text and voice channels through which users can communicate. These are usually more limited in scope and dedicated to specific topics.
• DMs: Short for “direct message”. These are private messages (via text, voice, or video) sent directly from one user to another.
• GDMs: This is short for “group direct message”. While direct messages are between two people, users can invite others to a private conversation of up to 10 people. Users cannot join a conversation unless they are invited.

Users can also engage with either public or private spaces.

Can Children Use Discord?

Discord’s Terms of Service states that only users who are 13 years or older may use its service in the U.S. That said, there are children under 13 who use Discord. The company has said it is developing a “gate” that asks users to self-report their date of birth upon creating an account. If a user is reported as being under 13, Discord will lock the user out of their account until they can verify their age with an official ID.

Make sure your kids know to never lie about their age on Discord or any other platform!

Can Strangers Interact With My Children on Discord?

It depends on your child’s account settings. When your kids join a server, others in that server can send them direct messages. You can, however, disable this feature in the account settings under the Privacy & Safety tab (see more details below). You can also select who can send your child a friend request, for example, you can choose everyone, friends of friends, or only other server members.

Discord recommends that users accept friend invites only from people they know. Keep in mind that users do not have to use their real names on Discord, so it may take one extra step to confirm who’s sending an invite. There’s also an option to scan messages and delete those that have explicit content. Should your kids ever encounter someone behaving inappropriately, Discord allows you to block the person in question, which prevents them from sending your kids direct messages and hides their messages in any shared servers. You can also create an invite-only server and invite only people you or your children know personally.

How Can I Help Ensure My Kids Use Discord Safely?

Discord’s Family Center helps parents monitor how their kids use the platform. Using the Family Center will help you gain insight into your kids’ activity on the platform, but it will not provide a transcript of your kids’ conversations with others. Rather, the goal is to help you understand how your kids use Discord and to nurture an open-ended dialogue on appropriate/safe online behavior. As such, this is an opt-in tool, meaning both you and your kids must agree to be part of it.

You can also select who can send your child a friend request

To sign up for the Family Center your kids need to first share a QR code with you to begin the process. Once you scan that code, your child(ren) will be prompted to accept the connection and the Family Center will begin recording and reporting information. Discord notes that the Family Center will not include a “complete archive of activity” and will only populate activity occurring after your kids have opted into the program. To be clear, your child(ren) must invite you to use the tool. Without their invite there is no way to activate the Family Center.

Parents that are connected to the Family Center will be able to see when their kids add new friends, join and/or participate in new servers, and who they message or call in direct or group chats. All this information is accessible at any time via the Discord app. You can also receive weekly activity reports via email that highlight whom your kids have messaged and/or called, how many new friends they have (and who they are), the servers they’ve joined, and more.

As mentioned above, Discord also has safety and privacy settings to help manage what is visible to other users and how they can engage. The chart below highlights many of these features, as well as how you can activate them:

It’s important to remember that anyone with access to a Discord account login can change the settings at any time, including your kids. However, Discord emphasizes in its safety FAQ that it will not share user login details with parents who request access to their kids’ accounts. So, you’ll have to get access from your kids directly.

For additional information on the Family Center, safety settings, privacy, and more you can visit Discord’s Parent Hub.

Is There Inappropriate Content on Discord?

As with any social media platform with user-generated and contributed content, Discord can contain content that’s inappropriate for kids. The platform’s community guidelines require that servers with adult content include an “age-restricted” label.

More recently, Discord has updated its community guidelines to also prohibit harmful misinformation and in some cases examine off-platform behavior when assessing if a user has violated the guidelines. According to Discord, this is part of an ongoing effort to make sure the platform stays safe for its users.

It’s great when companies and platforms take steps to ensure the safety of their users, but there’s no substitute for having a conversation with your kids about what to do when they spot inappropriate content. You can do this not only when they use Discord, but when they interact with other social media platforms as well.

Discord provides training materials for its users on how to moderate communities, while also spending resources to monitor and enforce compliance with its guidelines across the platform. In fact, every six months, it releases a Transparency Report highlighting how many users were reported for community guidelines violations, why the reports were submitted (harassment, spam, cybercrime, graphic content, etc.), the actions taken by the trust and safety team, and more.

Discord provides training materials for its users on how to moderate communities, while also spending resources to monitor and enforce compliance with its guidelines across the platform. In fact, every six months, it releases a Transparency Report highlighting how many users were reported for community guidelines violations, why the reports were submitted (harassment, spam, cybercrime, graphic content, etc.), the actions taken by the trust and safety team, and more.

What Else Can Parents Do to Monitor What Their Kids Are Doing on Discord?

As with all social media and online game platforms, parents should nurture an ongoing, open conversation with each of their kids about their use of those platforms. Showing interest by regularly checking in and asking them to share what they’re doing on Discord in a non-judgmental way is a not only a great way to understand how the platform works and how your kids are using it, but also ascertain any potential risks.

For more information and tips about how you can help protect your kids’ personal information visit our Family Gaming Guide.

Patricia E. Vance is the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). In her position, she leads the teams responsible for assigning age and content ratings to video games and apps, enforcing marketing guidelines adopted by the video game industry, and operating ESRB Privacy Certified, an FTC-sanctioned COPPA Safe Harbor Privacy seal certification program.

The post What Parents Need to Know About Discord appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Tyler Jones, who began using Discord when he was 15, sums up the platform’s appeal to teens and young adults this way: “It’s fast, it’s reliable, it’s easy to use, and it offers so many features, like video calling, screen sharing and presenting, and customizations, that other sites don’t have for free.”

More than anything, Discord helps facilitate socialization among peers, especially in times when it’d be otherwise impossible to do so in-person.

“I’ve known a lot of young adults my age struggle socially, especially in a time like now, and have found Discord as a comforting place to make friends and keep up with them,” Jones said.

If you’re intrigued about Discord, the following will help you learn the basics about Discord, including how you can make sure your kids stay safe while navigating the platform.

What is Discord?

Discord is a free communications platform that lets users text, talk, video chat, and share screens with one another. It was initially used largely by gamers, but it’s since spread to other groups thanks to its ease-of-use and wide variety of useful functions, including to host book clubs, knitting groups, sewing circles, and all manner of gatherings, both personal and professional.

How is Discord Different from Other Social Media Platforms?

One of Discord’s biggest differentiators is that it has no ads. Discord also says it does not sell user data or share its data with third parties for advertising purposes, although it does offer a subscription that offers users various enhancements to the Discord experience.  And unlike many social media platforms, there’s no news feed.

Users can also engage with either public or private spaces. As implied by the name, the public servers (communities organized around a specific topic or group) are accessible to anyone, meaning whatever your kids post can be seen by anyone that happens across that space. Meanwhile, private servers are only accessible to approved users, giving your kids the opportunity to set up their own servers for people they know, or joining their friends’ servers.

This makes Discord a more personally curated platform.

Discord’s Vocabulary

Discord can be tricky for the uninitiated. Thankfully, there’s a glossary, as well as numerous beginner’s guides, including an official guide from Discord, an unofficial guide from PCWorld, and a manual put together by M.I.T. students on how to use Discord to collaborate with classmates on projects.

Some terms you may hear are:

• Server: Spaces where users can gather and communicate. Servers can be started by communities and friend groups and can be either public (meaning anyone can join) or invitation only. Any user can start a new server for free.
• Channel: Servers are organized into text and voice channels through which users can communicate. These are usually more limited in scope and dedicated to specific topics.
• DMs: Short for “direct message”. These are private messages (via text, voice, or video) sent directly from one user to another.
• GDMs: This is short for “group direct message”. While direct messages are between two people, users can invite others to a private conversation of up to 10 people. Users cannot join a conversation unless they are invited.

Users can also engage with either public or private spaces.

Can Children Use Discord?

Discord’s Terms of Service states that only users who are 13 years or older may use its service in the U.S. That said, there are children under 13 who use Discord. The company has said it is developing a “gate” that asks users to self-report their date of birth upon creating an account. If a user is reported as being under 13, Discord will lock the user out of their account until they can verify their age with an official ID.

Make sure your kids know to never lie about their age on Discord or any other platform!

Can Strangers Interact With My Children on Discord?

It depends on your child’s account settings. When your kids join a server, others in that server can send them direct messages. You can, however, disable this feature in the account settings under the Privacy & Safety tab (see more details below). You can also select who can send your child a friend request, for example, you can choose everyone, friends of friends, or only other server members.

Discord recommends that users accept friend invites only from people they know. Keep in mind that users do not have to use their real names on Discord, so it may take one extra step to confirm who’s sending an invite. There’s also an option to scan messages and delete those that have explicit content. Should your kids ever encounter someone behaving inappropriately, Discord allows you to block the person in question, which prevents them from sending your kids direct messages and hides their messages in any shared servers. You can also create an invite-only server and invite only people you or your children know personally.

How Can I Help Ensure My Kids Use Discord Safely?

Discord’s Family Center helps parents monitor how their kids use the platform. Using the Family Center will help you gain insight into your kids’ activity on the platform, but it will not provide a transcript of your kids’ conversations with others. Rather, the goal is to help you understand how your kids use Discord and to nurture an open-ended dialogue on appropriate/safe online behavior. As such, this is an opt-in tool, meaning both you and your kids must agree to be part of it.

You can also select who can send your child a friend request

To sign up for the Family Center your kids need to first share a QR code with you to begin the process. Once you scan that code, your child(ren) will be prompted to accept the connection and the Family Center will begin recording and reporting information. Discord notes that the Family Center will not include a “complete archive of activity” and will only populate activity occurring after your kids have opted into the program. To be clear, your child(ren) must invite you to use the tool. Without their invite there is no way to activate the Family Center.

Parents that are connected to the Family Center will be able to see when their kids add new friends, join and/or participate in new servers, and who they message or call in direct or group chats. All this information is accessible at any time via the Discord app. You can also receive weekly activity reports via email that highlight whom your kids have messaged and/or called, how many new friends they have (and who they are), the servers they’ve joined, and more.

As mentioned above, Discord also has safety and privacy settings to help manage what is visible to other users and how they can engage. The chart below highlights many of these features, as well as how you can activate them:

It’s important to remember that anyone with access to a Discord account login can change the settings at any time, including your kids. However, Discord emphasizes in its safety FAQ that it will not share user login details with parents who request access to their kids’ accounts. So, you’ll have to get access from your kids directly.

For additional information on the Family Center, safety settings, privacy, and more you can visit Discord’s Parent Hub.

Is There Inappropriate Content on Discord?

As with any social media platform with user-generated and contributed content, Discord can contain content that’s inappropriate for kids. The platform’s community guidelines require that servers with adult content include an “age-restricted” label.

More recently, Discord has updated its community guidelines to also prohibit harmful misinformation and in some cases examine off-platform behavior when assessing if a user has violated the guidelines. According to Discord, this is part of an ongoing effort to make sure the platform stays safe for its users.

It’s great when companies and platforms take steps to ensure the safety of their users, but there’s no substitute for having a conversation with your kids about what to do when they spot inappropriate content. You can do this not only when they use Discord, but when they interact with other social media platforms as well.

Discord provides training materials for its users on how to moderate communities, while also spending resources to monitor and enforce compliance with its guidelines across the platform. In fact, every six months, it releases a Transparency Report highlighting how many users were reported for community guidelines violations, why the reports were submitted (harassment, spam, cybercrime, graphic content, etc.), the actions taken by the trust and safety team, and more.

Discord provides training materials for its users on how to moderate communities, while also spending resources to monitor and enforce compliance with its guidelines across the platform. In fact, every six months, it releases a Transparency Report highlighting how many users were reported for community guidelines violations, why the reports were submitted (harassment, spam, cybercrime, graphic content, etc.), the actions taken by the trust and safety team, and more.

What Else Can Parents Do to Monitor What Their Kids Are Doing on Discord?

As with all social media and online game platforms, parents should nurture an ongoing, open conversation with each of their kids about their use of those platforms. Showing interest by regularly checking in and asking them to share what they’re doing on Discord in a non-judgmental way is a not only a great way to understand how the platform works and how your kids are using it, but also ascertain any potential risks.

For more information and tips about how you can help protect your kids’ personal information visit our Family Gaming Guide.

Patricia E. Vance is the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). In her position, she leads the teams responsible for assigning age and content ratings to video games and apps, enforcing marketing guidelines adopted by the video game industry, and operating ESRB Privacy Certified, an FTC-sanctioned COPPA Safe Harbor Privacy seal certification program.

The post What Parents Need to Know About Discord appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

So, for a little fun, we decided to create an imaginary video game – COPPA Battlegrounds. Join the ESRB Privacy Certified team as we dive deeply into the ongoing saga of the Federal Trade Commission’s kids’ privacy enforcement actions – cases that have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and landmark legal remedies. Venture into new privacy territory, unlocking the mysteries of “personal information,” “privacy by default,” “data retention,” and more! Collect XPs as you explore strategies and best practices to protect young gamers’ privacy.

The Players

The “COPPA Controller”: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the U.S. government agency charged with protecting consumers and competition. It is the chief federal agency that works to protect consumer privacy. Over the years, it has brought hundreds of privacy and data security cases to protect consumers and their data.

The “Digital Defendants”: Several well-known tech companies have been hit with FTC actions alleging violations of children’s privacy law in the past half year. Two – Epic Games and Microsoft Xbox – are popular video game publishers. Amazon, Meta, and Edtech company, Edmodo, are also in the line-up.

The Weapons and Equipment

The “Sword of COPPA”: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA) and its implementing COPPA Rule (updated in 2013) provide the FTC with a powerful weapon to protect the privacy of children under the age of 13. The law and rule (together, COPPA) require companies that offer services “directed to children,” or that have knowledge that kids under 13 are using their services, to provide notice of their data practices. They must also obtain verifiable parental consent (VPC) from parents before collecting personal information from children. COPPA also contains strong substantive protections, mandating that companies minimize the data they collect from children, honor parents’ data deletion requests, and implement strong security safeguards. To date, the FTC has brought nearly 40 COPPA enforcement actions.

The “Section 5 Superweapon”: The FTC’s true superweapon comes from Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive practices in the marketplace. Since the advent of the internet, the FTC has used Section 5 to address a wide range of issues that affect people online, including the privacy of people purchasing and playing video games.

Policy Statement “Power-ups”: From time to time, the FTC releases policy statements that explain how the agency applies the laws it enforces. These potent statements put companies on notice that they will face legal action if they ignore the FTC’s prescriptions. In May, the FTC issued a Policy Statement on Biometric Information, which sets out a list of unfair practices relating to the collection and use of such data. Earlier, the FTC issued a Policy Statement on COPPA and EdTech that emphasized COPPA’s limits on companies’ ability to collect, use, and retain children’s data.

The Backstory

The FTC’s quest to secure a safer online environment for kids and their personal information has been ongoing since Congress passed COPPA in 1998. Previous blockbuster titles in the COPPA franchise include the FTC’s landmark 2019 settlement with Google/You Tube and the 2018 VTech and Musical.ly/TikTok actions.

COPPA has been extremely effective in giving parents information about and control over their kids’ data. There’s been an emerging consensus, however, that the legal framework for children’s privacy should be updated to include teenagers and meet the challenges of social media, mobility, ad tech, and immersive technologies – issues that weren’t present when Congress enacted the law 25 years ago. Despite the introduction of several bills in Congress to update COPPA, none have yet become law. The FTC therefore has proposed several new ideas to protect the privacy of not only children under the age of 13 but teens too. These are now playing out in the FTC’s enforcement actions.

 Multiplayer Actions

During the past half year or so, the FTC has announced four new COPPA actions, plus a an order against Meta/Facebook relating to a previous settlement. For video game companies, two stand out: the Epic Games/Fortnite settlement (see our earlier blog) and the Microsoft/Xbox Live settlement, announced in June. The FTC’s settlements with Amazon/Alexa and Edmodo also provide some clues to unlocking the secrets of the FTC’s COPPA enforcement mode. Consistent with ESRB Privacy Certified’s focus on privacy compliance in video games, we’ll focus our analysis on the two gaming cases. But we’ll add some insights from the NPCs (here, nonplayable “cases”), too.

Epic Games/Fortnite

Late last year, the FTC filed a two-count complaint and proposed settlement order against Epic Games. It alleged that Epic knew its massively popular game Fortnite was “directed to children” and unlawfully collected personal data from them without VPC. The FTC also charged Epic with violating the FTC Act by using unfair “on by default” voice and text chat settings that led to children and teens being bullied, threatened, and harassed within Fortnite. Epic settled with the FTC, agreeing to pay a $275 million civil penalty and to standard injunctive relief. (In the privacy area, this includes monitoring, reports, a comprehensive privacy plan, and regular, independent audits.) The final court Order entered in February also required Epic to implement privacy-protective default settings for children and teens. It also required the company to delete personal information previously collected from children in Fortnite unless the company obtains parental consent to retain such data or the user identifies as 13 or older.

Microsoft/Xbox Live

In the beginning of June, the FTC filed a one-count complaint and proposed settlement order against Microsoft alleging that its Xbox Live online service violated COPPA in three ways: (i) by collecting personal information (i.e., email address, first and last name, date of birth, and phone number) from kids under 13 before notifying their parents and getting VPC; (ii) by failing to provide clear and complete information about its data practices in COPPA’s required notices, i.e., that it didn’t tell parents that it would disclose Xbox’s customer unique persistent identifier to third-party game and app developers; and (iii)  by holding on to kids’ data for years even when parents did not complete the account creation process.

Microsoft, which has long had a comprehensive privacy program, settled with the FTC for $20 million. It agreed to implement new business practices to increase privacy protections for Xbox users under 13. For example, the Order requires Microsoft to tell parents that a separate child account will provide significant privacy protections for their child by default. The company also must maintain a system to delete, within two weeks from the collection date, all personal information collected from kids for the purpose of obtaining parental consent. In addition, Microsoft must honor COPPA’s data deletion requirements by deleting all other personal data collected from children after it no longer needs it for the purpose collected.

Unearthing the Seven COPPA Revelations

Beyond the allegations and remedies of the enforcement actions, there’s a wealth of information about the FTC’s kids’ privacy priorities and practices you might want to adopt – or avoid – if you want to stay out of the sites of the COPPA Controller. Here are COPPA Battlegrounds seven lessons for COPPA compliance based on the FTC’s recent kids’ privacy actions:

1. Sequence your game play to obtain VPC before you collect ANY personal information from a child: The FTC’s complaint in the Xbox action emphasized that – even though Microsoft had a VPC program in place – it violated COPPA by not obtaining parental consent before it collected any personal information from kids besides their data of birth. Xbox did require children to involve their parents in the registration process, but the FTC found that Microsoft’s initial collection of kids’ email addresses, their first and last name, and phone number before obtaining consent violated COPPA’s VPC requirements. The FTC also blasted Microsoft for requiring kids to agree to the company’s service agreement, which, until 2019, included a pre-checked box allowing Microsoft to send them promotional messages and to share user data with advertisers. The FTC’s approach indicates that they will look closely at companies’ verifiable parental consent sequences, and that they will strictly enforce COPPA’s prohibition on collecting any personal information before obtaining VPC (unless an exception to VPC exists).

2. The FTC views COPPA’s “actual knowledge” standard broadly and so should you: When the FTC announced its Epic Games settlement, we reminded companies that you can’t disclaim COPPA by declaring that you don’t process children’s information or by ignoring evidence that children are playing your games. Now, with the Xbox Live settlement, the FTC has affirmed that it will enforce COPPA against any company with “actual knowledge” that the company is handling children’s personal information, regardless of whether that company has directed its service to children intentionally. Significantly, the settlement requires Microsoft – when it discloses personal information about children to other video game publishers – to tell them that the user is a child. The FTC’s requirement for Microsoft to share information about children on its platform with third parties is a game-changing move. In the FTC’s words, “[I]t will put [third-party] publishers on notice that they, too, must apply COPPA protections to that child.”

3. Your COPPA notices must be clear, understandable, and complete: The FTC emphasized that it’s not enough under COPPA’s notice provisions to summarize your collection, use, and disclosure practices generally. Instead, your direct notice must be complete. The FTC faulted Microsoft for failing to tell parents about its collection of personal information children shared through their profile or Xbox Live usage, such as their “gamertags,” photos, which kids used to create avatars, and voice recordings from video messages. The agency also alleged that Microsoft’s notice failed to inform parents that it created persistent identifiers for children, which it combined with other information, and shared with third-party game and app developers. Going forward, it’s important for companies to specify, in a clear and complete way, their practices in the notices required by COPPA, and not just provide parents with a link to a densely worded privacy policy.

4. Privacy by default is not a fad: In Epic Games, the FTC focused for the first time not just on “privacy by design” but on “privacy by default,” finding that Epic did not have “privacy-protective” default settings in Fortnite that limited kids’ contact with strangers and otherwise protected their privacy. The FTC went further in Xbox Live, emphasizing that, even though Xbox had default settings that only allowed a child to disclose their activity feed or otherwise communicate with parent-approved “friends,” Microsoft configured other defaults in a way that did not protect children sufficiently. As the FTC emphasized in a blog about the Amazon case, “[C]ompanies that ignore consumers’ rights to control their data do so at their peril . . . The upshot is clear: Any company that undermines consumer control of their data can face FTC enforcement action.”

5. Take your data minimization and retention/deletion obligations seriously: The FTC’s recent cases also highlight COPPA’s substantive provisions on data minimization and data retention. The COPPA Rule prohibits conditioning a child’s participation in a game on the child “disclosing more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in such activity” and allows companies to keep it “for only as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purpose for which the information was collected.” In the Edmodo complaint, for example, the agency said that Edmodo violated COPPA by using the personal information it collected for advertising instead of limiting it to educational purposes.

In the Xbox Live case, the agency chided Xbox for holding onto kids’ data when the parental verification process was incomplete, sometimes for years. Although Microsoft described this as a “technical glitch,” and explained that this data “was never used, shared, or monetized,” the FTC doubled down on its concerns with company data retention practices that violate COPPA. Indeed, in the Amazon Alexa case, the FTC charged that Amazon made it difficult for parents to exercise their right, under COPPA, to delete their children’s voice recording data. It further alleged that Amazon disregarded parents’ deletion requests, retained kids’ voice recordings indefinitely, and misled parents about its data deletion practices (e.g., by retaining copies of transcripts of voice recordings). The FTC is wielding the “Sword of COPPA” to press for meaningful data minimization, purpose limitation, and data retention/deletion practices.

6. Be especially careful when dealing with kids’ biometric data, algorithms, and machine learning: The FTC’s Xbox Live settlement covers biometric information like avatars generated from a child’s image and emphasizes COPPA’s strict limitations on the retention of this type of data from kids. In the Amazon case, the agency was clearly troubled by Amazon’s retention of kids’ voice recordings, which count as biometric info, indefinitely. One of the FTC Commissioners emphasized this point, stating that “Claims from businesses that data must be indefinitely retained to improve algorithms do not override legal bans on indefinite retention of data.” Consider yourself warned!

7. Privacy Innovation Can Help You Comply with COPPA: Not all the privacy-protective action in COPPA Battlegrounds comes from the FTC. Even before the settlement, Epic Games announced that it was creating “Cabined Accounts” to provide safe, tailored experiences for younger players. Following the FTC’s action, Microsoft unveiled its plans to test “next-generation identity and age validation” methods to create a “convenient, secure, one-time process for all players that will allow us to better deliver customized, safe, age-appropriate experiences.” Xbox explained that the entire games industry can benefit from advancing safe and innovative digital experiences that are accessible, simple to use, and benefit all players. We agree! Many ESRB Privacy Certified members are developing new strategies and tools to enhance kids’ privacy. Achievement unlocked!

The Final Conquest

Congratulations on completing the breakout version of COPPA Battlegrounds! You can now take your kids’ privacy program to the next level. Contact us at privacy@esrb.org if you’d like to discuss how your company can prevail in COPPA Battlegrounds – and its inevitable sequels.

As senior vice president of ESRB Privacy Certified (EPC), Stacy Feuer ensures that member companies in the video game and toy industries adopt and maintain lawful, transparent, and responsible data collection and privacy policies and practices. She oversees compliance with ESRB’s privacy certifications, including its “Kids Certified” seal, which is an approved Safe Harbor program under the Federal Trade Commission’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule, and the general “Privacy Certified” seal.

The post COPPA Battlegrounds: The Quest to Uncover the Secrets of the FTC’s Kids’ Privacy Actions appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Last year, millions around the world found respite and joy in digital play – much of it with friends and family. In the United States, seven out of 10 people – 226.6 million people – played video games, up from 214 million a year earlier, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s report 2021 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry.

This proved to be especially true for kids, with 60% of parents saying that games were helpful in connecting kids with friends and family. Many parents even joined in on the fun, with about 74% playing video games with their children at least weekly, up dramatically from 55% a year earlier.

As one parent said to the ESA, “I do get to spend time with my son playing, and talking about what we are doing next is a nice bonding opportunity.”

Bringing the Playground to Everyone

For Tyler Baker, the opportunity to socialize through online games isn’t just nice, it’s a lifeline. Born with open spina bifida, the 27-year-old uses a modified Xbox Elite controller provided by AbleGamers, a nonprofit that advocates for greater accessibility in digital entertainment.

His mother, Lisa, credits games with helping Tyler develop his hand-eye coordination, as well as his cognitive skills. “They keep his mind working to solve issues, maneuver through missions and tasks, and work as a team with other players,” said Lisa Baker, who estimates that three-quarters of her son’s friends were made via online gaming. “Socialization plays a key role, especially once the pandemic hit and we locked down.”

This is something Steven Hunter came to realize in 2012, when his oldest son Tanner suffered a wrestling accident in high school that left Tanner paralyzed from the neck down. Through adaptive technologies provided by AbleGamers, Tanner, now 26, was able to play Fortnite and other games with his two younger brothers.

“Gaming is a social activity for Tanner,” said Steven Hunter. “It’s become a pivotal way for him to socialize with his brothers. They all grew up very much into games, and it’s become a big part of how they stay close. They’re best friends.”

“What we know from years of experience is that games help combat social isolation and foster community among people with disabilities,” said Mark Barlet, founder and executive director of AbleGamers. “We make friends through shared experiences. It’s no different for people with disabilities, many of whom have friends they’ve met through games.”

Socializing through Shared Play

Researchers have pointed out that multiplayer games are social systems, wired for engagement, communication, competition, collaboration, and even innovation. Elisabeth Hayes Gee, professor at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and the Delbert & Jewell Lewis Chair in Reading & Literacy, said that “many video games are meant to be shared, and can teach young people about science, literacy, and problem solving.”

Ryan Perry, a behavioral-science researcher at the University of Melbourne, co-authored a paper titled “Online-only friends, real-life friends or strangers?” that concluded, “Overall, these results emphasize that social interactions in (and around) online multiplayer video games are effective for building social capital, and do so by ensuring game play is in harmony with other goals and values.”

That games are social is perhaps news to very few people these days. But it was not so long ago that gaming was seen as an isolating activity. This was particularly true for online gamers who were stereotyped as recently as 2012 as “low in social status and socially peripheral.”

The Modern Playground

Fast-forward to today, both demographics and culture have evolved. The average age of today’s gamer is 31, according to the ESA. In other words, yesterday’s gamers have grown up to become parents, surgeons, lawmakers, actors and role models. Meanwhile, children are communicating, strategizing, and building connections with each other over a friendly game of Fortnite or a shared Minecraft (Everyone 10+) world.

“Multiplayer games are exciting and interesting because people are exciting and interesting,” said Andy Robertson, a father of three, author of Taming Gaming, and creator of  the Family Video Gaming Database, which helps parents discover and learn more about games.

Robertson cites Roblox (Everyone 10+) as one of the games that mirror these physical playground interactions: “You see kids playing this game, and they’re like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the floor was lava? Or if there were sharks here?’ And the developers would say, ‘Good, let’s do that.’ And so you end up with games in Roblox that can be quite peculiar because they’re shaped by these social interactions – not only between the players, but between players and developers as well.”

It’s striking that this behavior is so similar to improvised games kids can play with each other in-person. Video games have evolved to bridge the gap between real world imagination and the realities of a children’s day-to-day lives, becoming an essential tool for socialization and connection.

“When we say games, we often just think of the game itself,” Robertson said. “We sometimes forget that actually there is often this whole community around the game that is just as big a part of the play as the game itself.”

Staying Safe

Many parents have an understandable concern regarding their kids socializing online – including playing video games with strangers. You never truly know who’s on the other side of the screen unless you’ve first met them in real life, so it’s important to have an understanding of the tools at your disposal to make sure your kids have appropriate (and fun) online experiences with others.

As a parent, I find it helpful to have open conversations about who my son should play with, signs to watch out for, and how to respond if questionable things happen. Many parents I know have rules in place allowing their children to only play with family, friends from school, or pals from other real-world activities. Others feel comfortable permitting their kids to play with friends of friends, and maybe even strangers. Every child is different, and you’ll know when your children are ready for the next step.

We sometimes forget that actually there is often this whole community around the game that is just as big a part of the play as the game itself. – Andy Robertson

You can also set parental controls to help manage with whom your kids can play. These controls are available for virtually every video game device. While some let you make more granular rules than others, all are extremely helpful in creating an appropriate online experience.

As Robertson wistfully told me recently in conversation, “In a way, games are like playgrounds. Children run into the playground and… they don’t care who they’re playing with. There’s this lovely innocence about jumping in and just playing. If they keep seeing the same kids turning up playing the same games with them, you start to see these friendships form.”

Alex Pham is a mother, journalist and content strategist living in San Diego, Calif. She previously spent 20 years writing about media and technology for publications such as the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Billboard Magazine. The highlight of her career was when she beat Pikmin in a single, caffeine-fueled weekend.

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1. There’s No “Right Way” to Manage Video Games

You don’t have to stress about finding the “perfect” balance of video game time for your kids. Every family’s needs are different – and not all video game time is created equal. Instead of setting inflexible limits on your kids’ video game time, webinar panelist Andy Robertson, author of Taming Gaming, said it’s all about understanding your children’s love of video games and helping guide them toward healthy gaming habits.

Believe it or not, a great way to do this is by playing games with your kids! Sharing video game time will give you insight into the content, skill level, and context of the games your kids are playing – as well as providing invaluable family bonding time. This is a great opportunity to model a healthy relationship with video games and screen time.

“I know how I parent in other areas, so how am I going to be able to do this with video games? I think it’s quite helpful just to create some space and take a step back to figure it out,” said Andy Robinson, author of Taming Gaming. “A big part of that was developing habits, conditions, and rituals [during family video game time] around how we play games together. I think that sets in action an ongoing relationship with video games that continues to evolve.” Andy finished by saying that parents should “find a way to play together, but be confident in your own values” as a parent.

While it’s great to add something fun to your never-ending parent to-do list, you don’t need to be involved every time your kids pick up a controller. You can also show your interest by participating at a level that works for you, whether this means sitting in the same room while they play and asking the occasional question, or making it a topic of conversation during family meals. Keep the lines of communication open and chances are good you’ll learn more about why your kids love games, and have some fun along the way!

2. Check the Ratings

Picking appropriate games for your kids can feel daunting, but there are tools to help make it easier. The ESRB rating system provides information to help parents choose appropriate games for every player in the family. Ratings have three parts:

• Rating Categories suggest age appropriateness.
• Content Descriptors indicate the type of content that likely factored into the age rating assigned.
• Interactive Elements highlight online features that don’t influence ratings but are important to know about, such as in-game purchases and user interaction.

“Find a way to play together, but be confident in your own values.”

When asked about what other tools parents could use to make sure kids have the best possible experience online (even when they’re not around), ESRB President Patricia Vance responded by explaining the importance of having some basic household rules about video games.  She encouraged parents to start the conversation early, agree on a few ground rules, keep the door open for ongoing conversations and be prepared to adjust those rules as time goes on. Acknowledging that, parents can’t be around all the time, she referred parents to ParentalTools.org which provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up parental controls to help manage what kids can play, with whom, for how long and whether they can spend money on in-game purchases.

In addition to parental controls, parents should be aware of other in-game measures they can take to create a positive experience for their kids. When it comes to multiplayer online games, Patricia Vance recommends that parents review a game’s “community guidelines” with their child, which detail the rules of the road for players and also provides a “teachable moment.” She also wanted parents to know about in-game features that allow children to “block, mute and report other players that make them feel uncomfortable.”

Learn more about the ESRB rating system here.

3. Video Games are Good for Your Kids!

Although often overlooked, it turns out that when kids play video games they’re not just exercising their thumbs – they’re exercising their brains! In her book A Parent’s Guide to Video Games, webinar panelist Dr. Rachel Kowert discusses the many benefits of playing video games, including effects on:

• Cognitive development: Video games foster improved goal setting, initiative taking, persistence, strategic thinking, and more.
• Physical and mental health: Playing video games can help improve attention and reduce impulsivity, while developing imagination and empathy skills. Games that incorporate movement, or “exergames,” promote physical fitness.
• Social development: Video games today are increasingly social, with 77% of players reporting playing with other either online or in person according to ESA’s 2021 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry. In fact, 74% of parents say they play games with their kids weekly! No matter how you play together, connecting through video games can enhance communication and teamwork.
• Positive learning: When kids play video games, they’re picking up a variety of skills and knowledge without even realizing it! This can include leadership, time management, problem solving, content knowledge (such as history or urban planning), and other skills that have direct offline applications.

“Games bring a lot to the table,” says Dr. Rachel Kowert, Research director at Take This. “Games are valuable tools for learning because they are fun… because they balance the challenge of the game with the skill of the player. In psychology we call that a ‘state of flow.’” Dr. Kowert goes on to explain that games can teach kids, “problem solving, multi-tasking, and creativity.” She adds that a lot of this is unintentional, meaning that a child can play a game about farming, and accidentally learn important skills about resource and time management.

Dr. Kowert adds that there are a “range of social benefits” to video games that have become an “integral part of social lives” for many – kids included. She adds that video games can not only help reinforce existing friendships, but create new ones. Dr. Kowert finished by saying, “What brings us together more than saving the world?”

4. Keep the Conversation Going and Stay Flexible

Panelists agreed that replacing enforcement with involvement in your kids’ video game time isn’t a one-and-done affair, and the household rules should reflect that. They advised parents to treat video games like any other activity your kid might engage in and include it in your everyday conversations about your kids’ interests. Ask them about the games they love and they’ll likely have plenty to say!

“Games are valuable tools for learning because they are fun.”

During the webinar, Patricia Vance drives home the importance of combining the ongoing video game conversation with flexibility around household rules. For example, she explains that most parents are rigid regarding rules about in-game purchases, but far more flexible around screen time. Nurturing an open conversation about video games makes it easier for you to stay flexible, and easier for your children to understand the “why” behind the household rules.

5. Take Advantage of Additional Resources

After listening to the panelists, it’s clear that parents are not in this alone! In addition to ESRB ratings, there are many useful tools parents can use to help their kids have positive video game experiences. Check out:

• ParentalTools.org, with step-by-step parental control guides to help you manage your kids’ video game time when you’re not around. You can set parental controls to help you manage what your kids can play based on the ESRB rating information, when (and for how long), with whom, and whether they can spend any money on in-game purchases.
• Family Video Game Database, created by panelist Andy Robertson, provides in-depth descriptions of video game content and features. This includes information on accessibility so you can make sure everyone can join in the fun, regardless of disability or other special needs.
• The webinar also recommended the following resources for additional information:
  • Takethis.org
  • Internetmatters.org
  • Mediasmarts.ca

This is just a taste of what our expert panelists discussed during the free webinar for parents, Harnessing the Positive Power of Video Games. To learn more about how you can make the most out of video games in your home, check out the video recording of the webinar.

The post Top 5 Webinar Highlights: Harnessing the Positive Power of Video Games appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

They discuss:

• How playing video games can be beneficial for you and your children
• How to check ESRB age and content ratings to pick games that are appropriate for the whole family
• Household rules and parental control settings to help manage which video games your children play, how long, and with whom online even when you’re not around
• Available resources supporting appropriate online interactions and accessibility
• And more!

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Because of ADHD I have this feeling all the time, only the other voice is my own brain… and it won’t shut up even if I ask politely.

Everyone I’ve met with ADHD feels this differently, but for me it was a constant struggle growing up and into adulthood. It could be a real impediment to some basic tasks – especially in school. I always did my homework and worked hard, but some information would slide off my mind like butter on a hot pan… that is, until video games helped me better understand who I am, how my brain processes information, and how I learn.

Catching ‘Em All… Friends, That Is

As a hyperactive kid, I sometimes had trouble adapting to new environments and making friends. Hyperactive energy can be off putting or confusing to a young kid with no frame of reference, and it made me self-conscious in social situations. I was fortunate enough to always have a some very good friends when I was young, but I always had a lot of anxiety when it came to creating new relationships.

Pokémon Red (1996 – Nintendo)

Fourth grade was the first time I didn’t have any friends in my class, and I was petrified that people wouldn’t like me.

Enter Pokémon.

In elementary school I was a Pokémon (Everyone) fiend. There was nothing in the world more important to me than catching them all, so I made it my life’s mission to fill my Pokédex with all 150 available critters.

I took it upon myself to organize complex Pokémon trading marathons with other kids in my class, so we could all complete our Pokémon catalogue. I ended up building a group of good school buddies through the hours of catching, training, evolving, and trading. Coming at a perfect time, the experience taught me that I can build relationships with other kids that have the same interests as me and, despite my energy, I was a good friend and a “nice kid”. On top of that, this experience taught me the most basic principles of working as a team to accomplish complex, multi-part goals.

I Don’t Know Where I Am

Another particularly fun part of my ADHD is an absolutely horrendous sense of direction that plagues me to this day. GPS certainly makes it easier, but without the wonders of modern technology I’d get lost going around the corner. Growing up, this was made even more difficult as someone that confused their right and left up to an embarrassingly old age (thanks to a super fun side of Dyslexia!). And remembering East versus West was an absolute fantasy. Until I became obsessed with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Teen 13+).

Morrowind is a role-playing game (RPG) set in an enormous, detailed fantasy world, complete with individually operating cities, public transportation, and ruins of dead civilizations hidden by mountains of accumulated volcanic ash. In middle school, my friends and I put hundreds of hours into this world. We would trade stories of our time exploring, and devise strategies so complex that it would make our characters essentially invincible mere hours into the game. These strategies required a certain degree of spatial precision, especially in such a massive game world. We had to know where to go.

Slipped into the game’s box was a physical map of the in-game world, which I initially ignored. But when you know you have to travel Northeast from Seyda Neen to get to Dren Plantation (for some great weapons and a Daedric shield) and then East around numerous mountain ranges until you hit Azura’s Shrine, at which point you turn North past some Daedric ruins and over some more mountain ranges until you get to Tel Fyr, where you can pickpocket a full set of Daedric Armor off of Divath Fyr… a good map is essential.

Morrowind drilled map-reading into my brain as I explored that world. Eventually, my physical map was littered with hand-written notes; edges frayed and crumpled from use. Like I said, GPS became ubiquitous and solved a lot of this for me in the real world. But I am now a confident navigator providing I have a good map – be it tangible or on my phone. This is a skill I never would have learned had it not been for my time on Vvardenfel.

What Was I Doing Again…?

One relatively unknown part of ADHD is a swiss-cheese-like short-term memory. Immediate tasks get lost in a jumbled mess of sensory overload. I can be asked to tackle a simple assignment and completely forget what it was, even as I walk to my desk to begin working on it. It’s probably what I struggle with most, and I eventually found that I need an iron-clad method to make sure this doesn’t happen; forgetting to do a task that would take all of 20-seconds is simply not a good look in any personal or professional setting. Fortunately, there are tons of video games that are basically smart notetaking simulators with pretty graphics.

Whether a game has notetaking build into the UI, like in World of Warcraft (Teen 13+) and Fallout 3 (Mature 17+), or it’s up to the player to keep notes, like in The Witness (Everyone), games generally benefit from some kind of interface to keep track of what’s going on.

The Witness (2016 – Thekla Inc.)

The concept of applying this to my real life didn’t sink in until well after I graduated from college, but I credit video games with my current notetaking strategies. Video games helped me overcome my wonky short-term memory by essentially training me to make lists to track and manage both short-term and long-term tasks. I now keep two notebooks with slightly different purposes. One, my “Journal”, I use daily to write down new facts and information. My other book is my “Quest Log”, which I use to track all my projects, with milestones to make sure I make progress each week. After every meeting I consult my Journal and write specific step-by-step tasks into my Quest Log for future reference.

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing all of my weekly goals crossed out in my Quest Log… imagine all the EXP I got for those!

Everyone is “Different” and “Different” is Good

Beyond the obvious, growing up with a learning disability can wreak havoc on your self-esteem… no matter what age you are, but especially for kids. Repeatedly struggling with things like math and spelling, while your peers accel can make you feel like you’re not “normal” before you’re old enough to understand that the concept of “normal” doesn’t exist. I can only speak for myself when I say that there were times when I felt like it wasn’t even worth trying, because it would just never “click.” Even as an adult this vacuum of confidence can sneak out as I attempt to solve a seemingly simple problem, only to feel like I’m trying to jam a puzzle piece into an incompatible slot.

Ultimately, video games taught me how to turn my ADHD into an asset.

One of the most valuable things video games taught me was resilience. Video games introduced an intrinsic excitement and confidence into my young life that I was simply unable to get elsewhere. They gave me a chance to try and fail with no real downside; to set incremental goals for myself as I strive for a greater task. They helped me persevere in no-risk scenarios on my own time and conditioned me with a sense of tenacity that I otherwise may not have found. Video games helped me prove to myself that I am capable of not only succeeding but excelling. Sometimes I may just need to take interesting detours along the way.

Ultimately, video games taught me how to turn my ADHD into an asset. Sure, I see things differently than some people, but different is good!

Epilogue

I played a lot of video games growing up. In the time before parental controls and reliable data about the benefits of video games, this was understandably distressing to my mom. While she was infinitely patient with me, she simply didn’t “get” video games, and our household rules reflected that it was perceived as an unintellectual endeavor in my home. (Her words, not mine!) I now get indescribable joy from reminding her of this blatantly incorrect assessment of video games. I basically wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for the things I learned from video games. She’ll now proudly admit that it was an essential teaching tool for me, and the only one at my disposal that actually fit how I learned. (Also her words, not mine!)

My love for games turned into a love of storytelling, which evolved into a love of writing, which pushed me to an early career in journalism, then PR, and eventually to ESRB, where I have an objectively cool job that touches some of the most interesting parts of an industry I truly love. It’s worth noting that none of this goes away; ADHD has been part of me since day one, and will be forever, but I’ve learned how to turn these perceived shortcomings into assets. Even so, things don’t always translate: Sometimes I’ll say or do something that makes perfect sense to me, only to find that it doesn’t quite connect for the people around me. But if I’ve learned anything from video games it’s that these scenarios are not a game over (get it?). It’s just an opportunity to look at things from a different angle.

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Easy mode would be to let chaos reign and let the children fend for themselves, but let’s be real: you’re here because you’re not angling to play the Parenting Game on easy mode.

Embrace an Array of Guidelines with the Flexibility to Evolve

Whatever your family’s size, chances are that you’ll need to contend with having to define rules on a kid-to-kid basis. Sweeping, general rules that apply to all children tend to be reserved for wider conversations around online safety and multiplayer games – things like “don’t ever tell a stranger where you live, or your real name,” and “never leave the platform to talk to a stranger.” For our older kids, it’s reminding them that the internet is like a very old, cranky elephant: it never forgets when you make a mistake (i.e., sending texts, pictures, messages that you shouldn’t).

While the solution to disparate screen time needs is complex and challenging, it requires more nuance than simply setting rules up and then letting them run. The first stop, no matter where you start with defining guidelines, should always be ESRB ratings. Understanding the reason why Grand Theft Auto Online (Mature 17+) may not be the right choice for your 12-year-old (right now) can be as simple as seeing what content your child would be interacting with should you say “yes.”

The ESRB ratings provide a baseline understanding of interactive gaming content, as well as guidelines for which age range this particular game would be appropriate. But not all children fit into the same category of maturity. Checking the Content Descriptors for more in-depth information on what’s in the game will help you make that final decision. For even more specific information, ESRB has rating summaries, which go one step deeper, providing more contextual information around how content is presented to the player. ESRB also includes Interactive Elements to let you know when a game includes the ability to make in-game purchases, communicate with other players via text or voice, and more.

In our home, we talk about consuming content in the same way we talk about eating food. There will be complex tastes that may be too much for a developing palate to handle. So if we put complex food in front of our youngest children, they may not be ready to enjoy it. This goes the same for video games.

The internet is like a very old, cranky elephant: it never forgets when you make a mistake.

The ESRB’s Content Descriptors are a good way to determine what’s “just right” for your children at any given time. Likening the Content Descriptors to the nutritional label on all pre-packaged foods is a good way to understand why we pay attention to what goes into a game’s rating. Just like we pay attention to sodium, sugar, carbohydrates, and fats, we need to do the same with content.

As my kids get older and develop new interests in unexplored genres, we revise our guidelines to fit where they are in their development journey. Is the 9-year-old finally old enough for Fortnite (Teen 13+)? Perhaps. The 7-year-old isn’t quite there. But the 16-year-old is definitely ready for another dive into Resident Evil (Mature 17+) while the 12-year-old embraces Diablo 3 (Mature 17+) with Grandpa and Destiny 2 (Teen 13+) with Mama and Dad.

Our home has the benefit of game-savvy parents. But if you don’t know much about video games, turn to your knowledge of television and movies to make comparisons. Letting your school-aged kiddo watch Frozen isn’t much of a stretch because it’s made for kids. But how would you feel about letting them watch Rick and Morty? Sure, it’s a cartoon, but it has violence, sexual themes, and strong language. If you’re able to break down movies and television into categories and content descriptions, then you’ll be able to do the same with games.

As always, flexibility is key.

Ensuring Safety for Younger Children

This is the key issue that families with multiple children face: how do we ensure that the younger children aren’t consuming content outside of their maturity level? Are there ways to make certain that older children are able to play the games that they want to play without fear of younger siblings experiencing content before they’re ready?

Part of the solution is in having conversations with all the kids in the household so everyone is familiar with the rules and signals around video game content. The cornerstone of this strategy is in making sure that little ones still have access to the people playing the games without being in the same space.

Make Use of Visual Cues for Younger Children

Not every home is going to be a big house in the suburbs. Some families live in smaller spaces, like condos or apartments, where there are very few places that older children can have time to play more mature titles without worrying about little ones being underfoot. In these smaller spaces, it’s important to communicate with younger children that when a specific signal is used, the living room is off limits. This is also helpful for when the parents want to load up The Last of Us Part 2 (Mature 17+) and don’t want a little one stumbling into that level of violence.

If a younger child needs something from someone in that room, even knowing that the visual cue of “Do Not Enter” is up, they should know that they can knock on a wall, a door, a bookshelf, or a window to get that person’s attention and signal that they should pause the game.

In our house there’s a whiteboard outside of the office that we write on when the children aren’t allowed in for any reason. It’s a long-established rule that ensures that appropriate measures are taken while still taking care of small children’s needs.

Make Use of “Gaming Zones”

Before we got our 12-year-old their computer as a birthday present, they would often spend the hour before dinnertime in the living room playing a game.

If the game was a “soft” T-rated game (where the most we had to contend with was a bit of strong language), then we didn’t worry too much. We always talk to the little ones about the appropriateness of the game to determine whether or not they could spectate (a beloved pastime in our home among all of the children). If it wasn’t, they’d stay away unless they needed something in the kitchen.

Instead, the little ones would use their smaller screens (iPads or laptops) or the television in the guestroom for their entertainment. After dinner, they would either swap zones with their older siblings or join them for a different game that they’ll all play together.

Be Present If the Content Is Beyond a Child’s Maturity Level

I am always a firm proponent of determining maturity level alongside age rating. For example, we played Diablo 3 (Mature 17+) with our 12-year-old for their birthday, but we played it as a family to make sure we were there to contextualize any unfamiliar content.

There are games that I may make an exception for, especially if the older sibling is tuned into the younger sibling’s comfort levels.

Those moments are great bonding experiences. As long as the content doesn’t veer too far off course, and I’m standing by to help explain anything that may be a little outside of my kid’s understanding, it’s a good opportunity to encourage that level of communication between siblings.

Figuring Out Family Game Time Across Disparate Ages

The easiest thing to do when setting up game time with the family is find a game genre that everyone enjoys and is appropriate for the youngest child. We make sure that, just like with family movie time, there’s a rotation in who chooses what to play.

In smaller spaces, it’s important to communicate with younger children that when a specific signal is used, the living room is off limits.

It could be playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Everyone) on Nintendo Switch, if everyone’s in a racing mood. Or maybe we would team up to go exploring and jumping around in Spelunky (Teen 13+). If we’re feeling into building, we’d load up our Minecraft (Everyone 10+) server or jump into Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Everyone) for some fishing or crafting. Sometimes, it’s even as simple as passing the controller back and forth, playing a single-player game on the couch (like Super Mario Odyssey (Everyone 10+)).

Setting Expectations and Reinforcing the Rules

Now that expectations about who gets to play what, when, and where have been established, there’s the not-so-tiny complexity of making sure that there’s consistency across ages and there’s continued communication between the parents and the children.

Kids don’t always follow the rules, especially if they don’t understand why the rules are being implemented. There may be pushback and a good possibility that there will be outcries of “it’s not fair” along the way.

Dissent won’t matter so much if you lean into technology to help enforce boundaries when you’re not in the room acting as a Micromanaging Parent (which you don’t want, anyway). This is where Parental Controls come into play for each of the platforms that you allow your children to use, including Android/iOS, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows 10.

The trick is to balance verbal reinforcement with a technological backstop for when children push boundaries.

Be As Dialed into What They’re Playing As You Can

This is where I’ve fallen down as a parent, especially with content that is billed as “kid-friendly” on mobile. Depending on your device, mobile games aren’t always rated by the ESRB, although they are displayed for all games and apps in the Google Play Store. With a wealth of content out there for the kids to engage with, I’ll admit that I used to get overwhelmed.

There have been plenty of times where I’ve gotten it right and made sure that I’m vetting that content before the kids get to it. But, there have been an equal number of times, especially in my early days as a parent, where I wasn’t as diligent.

When I started paying very close attention to what the kids were playing and interacting with, they balked at first. They didn’t get why I was so interested all of a sudden. So, we talked about it at length and I explained why it’s important for me, as their parent, to be almost as connected to their games as they are. It took them some time to realize that I was coming at this from a place of care, rather than control, and once they understood my motives, they eased up a bit.

Now that my kids are older, we have conversations about what they’re playing regularly. We talk about what they’re most interested in — the 9-year-old wants to play Fortnite next and the 7-year-old would like to turn the clock forward so she can play horror games like her big sister — and make plans to when they’ll be able to play them, if it’s not right away.

Each child, including the 16-year-old, must ask permission to install any apps on their iPads, including games. I subscribe to Apple Arcade, which ensures that they have access to age-appropriate games that aren’t chock-full of ads, as many free-to-play and “freemium” mobile games tend to be.

These conversations open the door to improve and adapt the rules while remaining inclusive in how we’re enforcing them.

Amanda Farough has spent much of the last ten years running businesses, making websites, and writing about video games… usually within a few hours of one another. She’s a dedicated speaker with over a decade of experience and has presented/moderated at a variety of conferences, including GamesBeat Summit, Playcrafting’s Women in Games event, GameDaily Connect, PAX East/West, and a smattering of small business, digital marketing, and branding conferences.

These days, Amanda is the co-host of the Virtual Economy podcast, mama at Ready Player Mom (and part of the Radically Kind Gamers stream team) on Twitch, business & entertainment writer, and co-host on the Engaged Family Gaming podcast. Amanda also holds a seat on the board of directors at Hit Save! (a video game preservation nonprofit) as Director of Communications.

The post How to Best Manage Video Games With Kids of All Ages appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

In fact, according to psychologist and author Peter Gray, Ph.D., video games can help “counteract the harmful effects of the loss of other forms of play” in the real world. Specifically, Dr. Gray highlights what he calls “free play,” or the ability to meet with other children and peers to participate in games and activities that are not directed by adults. This has declined in recent decades and can be replaced in part with video games.

Here are a few simple things that parents can do to help ensure that their kids are getting the most out of the time they spend playing video games.

1. Choose age appropriate games – ESRB ratings make it easy. They are displayed on the game’s packaging or wherever you purchase or download games online.  There are three parts to each ESRB rating – an age Rating Category, Content Descriptors and Interactive Elements which notify parents about games that enable players to play with each other online and/or make in-game purchases. Additionally, you can look up a game’s rating summary to get further details about a game’s content at esrb.org or ESRB’s rating search mobile app.
2. Encourage games that are as intellectually stimulating as they are fun – Virtually all games are stimulating experiences in some way. Most games inherently challenge kids to solve problems, develop critical thinking skills and, in the case of multiplayer games, master collaboration and teamwork with their peers. And some games, like the Civilization or Assassin’s Creed series, teach your kids about history and social science in a more immersive and compelling way than any textbook ever could. Or check out Kerbal Space Program, which lets players design and launch a rocket into space!
3. Make sure they know the rules of the road – Especially when it comes to playing multi-player games online, it’s important that you’ve set some ground rules with your kids and understand the tools that are available. You can start by having a family discussion to understand what they’re playing, why and with whom. Be careful not to be judgmental. You want to keep the door open so your kids feel comfortable talking to you about what they’re experiencing when playing… good or bad. You may also want to discuss whom they can play with online. Depending on the age and maturity of your child, it may not be practical to limit their play to only friends and relatives. And making new friends playing games online is part of the fun!  Nevertheless, when things get rough, they should know how to report, block, or mute other players. Of course, it goes without saying that they should never accept invitations from people they don’t know to connect elsewhere online or in the real world. 
4. Set parental controls to help enforce rules – We all want to trust our kids to follow our rules and make good decisions. Just to be sure, you might want to familiarize yourself with the parental controls for each of the game devices in your home. When activated, these tools can block games above a certain age rating from being played, limit the amount of time your child can play games, control the amount of money they can spend on games, and restrict whom they can play with online. Check them out!

Bottom line, we’re all struggling with the myriad of consequences of spending so much time at home. When it comes to video games, parents can take some solace knowing that there are many benefits that your kids can gain from playing them. By following the tips above, you can make sure they get the most of their time spent doing so.

Patricia E. Vance is the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). In her position, she leads the teams responsible for assigning age and content ratings to video games and apps, enforcing marketing guidelines adopted by the video game industry, and operating ESRB Privacy Certified, an FTC-sanctioned COPPA Safe Harbor Privacy seal certification program.

The post Summer Vacation Tips for Parents:  Getting the Most Out of Video Games appeared first on ESRB Ratings.

Choose the Right Games for Your Family

Knowing which games are appropriate for your children is easier than you may think. If your child has asked to play or purchase a specific game, a good first step is to check the rating displayed on the product detail page. Parents can also conduct a search for the ESRB-assigned age and content ratings on esrb.org or our rating search app for iOS and Android by entering the game’s title. With our three-part rating system, you can quickly understand if a game is appropriate for your family. You can also review a game’s Rating Summary, which provides even more detail.

Still not sure? You can read reviews from game enthusiast websites, and watch gameplay clips on sites like Mixer, Twitch, and YouTube.

Have a Family Meeting and Set House Rules

Agreeing on some house rules for video games and devices may be the most important way to make sure your kids’ interactive experiences are safe and appropriate. Start by calling a family meeting to discuss these topics, and make sure everyone is on the same page regarding how they can engage with games and apps.

It’s not always easy to navigate these conversations, especially if you have some older kids that have been enjoying rule-free gaming sessions for some time, but we have a helpful Family Discussion Guide to get the conversation started. You can go over what games are appropriate for which of your children, explain why, and highlight some time limits for every day of the week. With all of this time at home, establishing a balanced structure around the day – especially when it comes to playing video games – is wise and a good way to maintain relative peace. Further, you may want to set rules about with whom your kids can play online and how much money (if any) they can spend online to download new games or make in-game purchases.

During times like these it may also be a good idea to have some house rules around keeping shared spaces tidy. Discuss how it’s important to put away controllers and wires after playing games. And if you’re playing as a family, you may also want to consider making some rules around sanitizing shared controllers.

Getting the house rules in writing is only the first part of the process. Everyone (yes, even you, parents) needs to abide by the rules! And they should be adapted as the stay-at-home orders lift and other factors come into play. Parental controls can help enforce whatever rules you establish.

Set Parental Controls

Since you may be pre-occupied preparing meals, cleaning your house, or working remotely, it’s important to set parental controls to make sure your kids are sticking to their routines and the house rules. With ParentalTools.org ESRB has made it easier than ever to help you manage what your kids can play, for how long, with whom, and how much they can spend.

For example, some parents may be comfortable with their teens diving into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (rated M for Mature 17+), but that may not work for every family or for every child in the household. You can manage which games can be played (by specific family member on certain devices) by the ESRB-assigned age rating to ensure that your kids don’t play a game they may not be ready for.

Games like Fortnite (rated T for Teen 13+) and Minecraft (rated E10+ for Everyone 10+) can provide dozens of hours of gameplay with friends or alone.

Now more than ever, you may want to set play-time limits to make sure game time doesn’t interfere with homework, chores, or getting some physical exercise.

ParentalTools.org

Speaking of playing with friends, many games enable players to play with each other online. While playing online can be a great team-building experience and a way for your kids to stay connected with their friends, you may not be comfortable with your kids playing with strangers. Thankfully, parental controls can manage (or block) chat features or in some cases let you approve friends.

Many platforms enable players to purchase new games via download and some games also offer in-game items for purchase. Setting controls to manage spending money on game or in-game purchases will make sure you don’t have any surprise charges to your account or credit card. If you want to learn more about the different types of in-game purchases, we have you covered.

You can find ESRB’s step-by-step instructions on how to activate the parental controls on your device(s) at ParentalTools.org. It’s never too late to set those controls!

Make sure you keep an eye on ESRB’s Twitter and Facebook for more advice. It’s never been easier to manage what, when, and how your kids engage with video games, all it takes is a little time and attention!

All of us at the ESRB hope that you and your families are healthy and safe.

Patricia E. Vance is the president of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). In her position, she leads the teams responsible for assigning age and content ratings to video games and apps, enforcing marketing guidelines adopted by the video game industry, and operating ESRB Privacy Certified, an FTC-sanctioned COPPA Safe Harbor Privacy seal certification program.

The post What Parents Need to Know About Managing Their Kids’ Video Games During the Pandemic appeared first on ESRB Ratings.