In today’s Quick Hits we talk about moms and dads on Facebook, regulating the Internet advertising industry, “Twitter Bombing” in political campaigns, and more. Check it out!

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Almost Half of Parents Friend Their Kids on Facebook

According to a new survey from the consumer electronics retailer Retrevo, 48% of parents claimed to “friend” their children on Facebook. As more people join Facebook everyday (the website is rapidly approaching 500 million users), I would expect this number to increase.

Proposed Legislation on Internet Advertising Regulation to be Announced Today

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. lawmakers are preparing to announce proposed legislation regulating Internet advertising today. Per the Wall Street Journal, the legislation would force websites that collect visitor information to “disclose to consumers how that information is collected and used, with whom it is shared and the circumstances under which that sharing takes place.” Additionally, the website should feature the ability for users to opt out directly from the website.

The proposed legislation also deals with how websites manage data through third-party companies. From the article: “Consumers would need to grant these third-party companies special permission for their data to be collected. The draft legislation provides some exceptions. The ad company wouldn’t need to solicit permission to collect information about consumers if the targeted ad includes a link that explains which company was involved in making the ad appear, shows consumers what information is collected about them and gives them the chance to opt out.”

Martha Coakley was “Twitter Bombed” During Massachusetts Senate Race

During her failed Massachusetts senate race against surprise Republican victor Scott Brown, Democrat Martha Coakley was the victim of a so-called “Twitter Bomb” from a conservative political action group. According to researchers, nine accounts set up by the group sent out 929 tweets over a two-hour period reaching approximately 60,000 people. The impact that this “Twitter Bomb” had on Coakley’s loss is probably marginal, but it shows how important the web and social media can be in building up and knocking down political candidates.

Facebook Should Let Users Kill Privacy Themselves

In his Net Work column for PC World, Tony Bradley offers an open letter to Facebook. In it, Bradley explains that he, and many others like him, don’t mind giving up their privacy, they just want to do it on their own terms. Bradley proposes that rather than forcing new privacy controls on users over night, Facebook should have a beta testing period and get feedback first. Bradley also suggests that Facebook should make opt-in the default on all new privacy changes (since, according to him, people will opt-in without reading what they’re opting in to anyway).