What do you deem "acceptable"?

Today accessing the internet is as simple as reaching into your pocket. Schools are providing one-to-one technology for students to each have their own personal device such as a Chromebook to complete school assignments. Libraries have open access computers available for after school or work use and relaxing weekend gaming. While acceptable use policies can vary from institution to institution it leads me to think about the following questions: 

• How critical is it that a library has a clear defined acceptable use policy? 
• Is it important for public entities such as schools and libraries to provide the user with what they deem as acceptable use? 
• How does the user understand what is acceptable and what is not? 
• How do acceptable use policies vary for adults versus minors?

Acceptable Use Policies and where to find them?

    To start my dive into acceptable use policies, I feel it is necessary to start by defining what an acceptable use policy is. An Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP for short, is an agreement between the user and the organization designed to keep users safe online. This agreement allows the user to explore the digital world with stipulations defined by the organization. Typically these are created by the school districts, leaders of an organization, or even by a board of an organization. 

    I decided to review the Naperville Public Library's Internet and Computer Usage policy, which states that they have public computers available for their users. Their policy was last updated in October of 2022. It does not mention much about current technologies outside of some of the computers have specialty software. There is no mention of AI. A quote that stood out to me was, "The Library filters internet access in accordance with federal law regarding acceptance of E-Rate funding. The Library does not control Internet sites and cannot be responsible for their content." This got me digging through the internet to find out what 'E-Rate funding' was. This is funding that is available for schools and libraries through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While I had not heard of the FCC for funding, I am familiar with the FCC in regard to Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). 

    I mainly work in the Children's Department at Naperville Public Library and these computers have additional filters on them while the Teen and Adult public computers have only the filters to comply with the FCC. The Teen Space is meant for young adults aged 13 and up. The filtering software that abides by CIPA is designed to prohibit access to inappropriate or harmful material, “hacking” and other forms of unlawful activity, unauthorized disclosure of personal information, and to protect safety and security when using direct electronic communications. Basically, this is an extra safe guard for children using the internet in a public setting which is necessary when phishing scams happen so easily in today's society. This safe guards the child as well as the institution.

    Last, it has a list of rules and regulations. This list focuses on illegal or prohibited use. Illegal and/or prohibited use of public access computers or failure to follow the terms of their policy may result in the customer being required to leave the Library, having their Library privileges limited or suspended, and/or appropriate legal or disciplinary action. I think there could be improvements made to this policy as it is showing its 2 year age, but overall the list of rules and regulations are reasonable for a public setting. They have a few nods to 3-D printing items but could add more about utilizing AI at the Library.

How Gen Z is handling the digital world?

"Gen Z overwhelmingly supports the definition of digital citizenship, 

but finding the tools to support it is challenging."

    The Harris Poll Research Report through the Family Online Safety Institute defines digital citizenship as the responsible use of technology (e.g., digital devices, internet, computer software) when interacting with others. That responsibility may apply to safety, privacy, or kind and positive conduct when using technology. This research report was on the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of Gen Z regarding their use of technology, social media and use of online safety tools. 

Photo Credit: Family Online Safety Institute, 2021

    Their survey audience was teens and young adults who all fall within generation Gen Z. They determined that around 56% of teens and young adults surveyed were aware of online safety tools and around 69% are satisfied with the tools available to them. When asked what the survey participants thought would be helpful for the future they stated they would like cyber security courses, being able to turn off tracking or monitoring, strict and customizable privacy settings, and transparency in how companies are using their data.

Photo Credit: Family Online Safety Institute, 2021

Impact on those over 18

    Now a days, teens and young adults tend to be the ones teaching their parents and grandparents about how new technologies and social media works. While I technically qualify as a Millennial, I grew up in the technological boom of the 1990's and 2000's. By growing up in a different era of technology and access to the internet it helped me establish safe guards from certain scams and click bate available online. I have a sense of what phishing looks like, and unlike some others in my life, have a grasp on metadata and how this can impact your online experience. 

    For those of you who are not as familiar with metadata essentially it is "data about data". Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can make it easier to find, use and reuse particular instances of data. For example, author, date created, date modified and file size are examples of very basic document file metadata. Having the ability to search for a particular element (or elements) of that metadata makes it much easier for someone to locate a specific document. (Kranz, Tech Target)

    Going back to the Naperville Public Library for a minute, another interesting element in their Internet and Computer Usage policy was that all the public computers are rebooted nightly and upon request to remove personal settings and files. This is interesting when thinking about metadata and how easily it can be to be hacked in today's era. An article from ARS Technica states, "Even those who consider themselves well educated about cyber crime and security threats—and who do everything they’ve been taught to do—can (and do!) still end up as victims. The truth is that, with enough time, resources, and skill, everything can be hacked." The Naperville Public Library uses a software called Deep Freeze. This software allows an added safe guard for the public when using a public computer at the library. They can reset the computer after their use to a default setting, meaning anything they download or save is wiped once the computer is reset. In addition to customers or staff being able to reset the computers, the computers are all shut off at closing ensuring they are wiped once a day. 

Summary

    It is important for organizations that provide technology and internet access to their users to have an acceptable use policy or a similar set of guidelines for their users. The users should have the right to know what is acceptable and what is not to that specific organizations standards and it should be made available for their review. The policy should be clear and specific. While it is the institutions responsibility to provide these policies or guidelines, it is up to the users to access the internet appropriately. Users of all ages should work to be responsible digital citizens. To start the journey to being a responsible digital citizen here are a few strategies from an article by Kajeet that breaks down teaching digital citizenship.

1. Take advantage of available resources
2. Model smart online behavior
3. Look for best practices you can adopt
4. Make it part of your every day

While these are not the only strategies to being a good digital citizen, it is a good place to start.