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> Acceptable forms of these apps can be used by parents to track their children. However, these apps cannot be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) wi

> Acceptable forms of these apps can be used by parents to track their children. However, these apps cannot be used to track a person (a spouse, for example) without their knowledge or permission unless a persistent notification is displayed while the data is being transmitted. Why is it ethical to track children, but not adults? If phones existed when I was a kid, I would have been horrified to discover my parents had installed spyware on my phone.

lsiebert 6y ago
In general or this shit specifically? I'm not sure why you would need this sort of status for kids. In general though, well a natural or man made disaster can happen suddenly, and you probably want to know where your kid is then, especially if you are fleeing for your life. Also, kids get kidnapped. Some kids run away. Also there are bad people in the internet, horrible people that find kids attractive and then groom children or teens. Having a kid, and I don't myself have one but my sister does, seems to involve a lot of worrying about bad shit happening. Kids don't always make the best decisions on their own. Neither do teens; and if someone is late for curfew, checking the app when they don't answer there phone is better than frantically calling hospitals.
- scrollaway 6y ago
  Everything you said is applicable to adults as well though.
  - lsiebert 6y ago
    Adults are old enough and capable enough to be trusted to make their own decisions. That's pretty much the definition of being an adult.
mLuby 6y ago
How much time can pass before it's unethical for a guardian not to know where their ward is? 1 hour is fine, but 1 day would be concerning, and definitely 1 week is too long. (It may be related to how long the ward might survive without finding shelter or water.) So some degree of tracking is required. However, ethically speaking, we should strive to track as little as possible, since the whole point is to allow the child to develop into an independent, self-responsible adult. What's deemed acceptable to maintain control over a child has been diminishing (e.g. corporal punishment). Maybe location tracking should be the next addition to a child's Bill of Rights (and then we can talk to our Big Brother babysitter about knocking it off too).
- anoncake 6y ago
  It depends on their age, doesn't it? 1 hour isn't fine for a toddler, 1 week may be fine for a 17-year-old.
- dorkwood 6y ago
  I guess the part that angers me is that they do, in fact, allow you to track adults, as long as the adult is aware they're being tracked and a notification is displayed on their screen while it's happening. Children, however, aren't offered the same courtesy. I understand the legal responsibility to know where your child is, but none of the arguments I've seen so far seem to address why it's ethical to deceive children but not adults.
  - mLuby 6y ago
    That unnecessary secrecy/deception angle I've never heard before, but it's a really good one; totally agree!
toyg 6y ago
As a parent, I am legally responsible for the actions of my kids. That’s why a degree of control is acceptable. How much you exercise such control is entirely due to your relationship with the child, of course, but excessive trust does carry a risk. (This, of course, in addition to regular parental anxiety about the safety of your kids)

lsiebert 6y ago

In general or this shit specifically? I'm not sure why you would need this sort of status for kids. In general though, well a natural or man made disaster can happen suddenly, and you probably want to know where your kid is then, especially if you are fleeing for your life. Also, kids get kidnapped. Some kids run away. Also there are bad people in the internet, horrible people that find kids attractive and then groom children or teens. Having a kid, and I don't myself have one but my sister does, seems to involve a lot of worrying about bad shit happening. Kids don't always make the best decisions on their own. Neither do teens; and if someone is late for curfew, checking the app when they don't answer there phone is better than frantically calling hospitals.

scrollaway 6y ago
Everything you said is applicable to adults as well though.
- lsiebert 6y ago
  Adults are old enough and capable enough to be trusted to make their own decisions. That's pretty much the definition of being an adult.

mLuby 6y ago

How much time can pass before it's unethical for a guardian not to know where their ward is? 1 hour is fine, but 1 day would be concerning, and definitely 1 week is too long. (It may be related to how long the ward might survive without finding shelter or water.) So some degree of tracking is required. However, ethically speaking, we should strive to track as little as possible, since the whole point is to allow the child to develop into an independent, self-responsible adult. What's deemed acceptable to maintain control over a child has been diminishing (e.g. corporal punishment). Maybe location tracking should be the next addition to a child's Bill of Rights (and then we can talk to our Big Brother babysitter about knocking it off too).

anoncake 6y ago
It depends on their age, doesn't it? 1 hour isn't fine for a toddler, 1 week may be fine for a 17-year-old.
dorkwood 6y ago
I guess the part that angers me is that they do, in fact, allow you to track adults, as long as the adult is aware they're being tracked and a notification is displayed on their screen while it's happening. Children, however, aren't offered the same courtesy. I understand the legal responsibility to know where your child is, but none of the arguments I've seen so far seem to address why it's ethical to deceive children but not adults.
- mLuby 6y ago
  That unnecessary secrecy/deception angle I've never heard before, but it's a really good one; totally agree!

toyg 6y ago

As a parent, I am legally responsible for the actions of my kids. That’s why a degree of control is acceptable. How much you exercise such control is entirely due to your relationship with the child, of course, but excessive trust does carry a risk. (This, of course, in addition to regular parental anxiety about the safety of your kids)