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An overview of the issues concerning child safety online, prepared by:
Internet Online Summit: Focus on Children Washington DC, Dec 1-3, 1997 Table of Contents
The global Internet offers exciting new opportunities for children and families to research their homework online, communicate with international penpals, and build personal websites to share their creativity with others. But with these opportunities come challenges: how can children remain safe within this ever-expanding global village? Risks range from sites filled with misinformation to sites which expose users to illegal pornography. The problem of pedophiles and others who target children online is also a concern. In order to address these issues, law enforcement, the Internet and online industry, and families, libraries, schools, responsible corporations and community groups must work together. Children may not understand these online risks, and parents may not be familiar enough with current technological and other solutions to these concerns. Key to bringing more families online, and keeping them online, is educating the parents about the range of available options. There are things parents can do to protect their children. Should they wish to, they can make choices about what their children may access online. Industry must also continue to address
these concerns with inexpensive and easy to use solutions and "child safe"
zones. Making broad access to quality content on the Internet must be a
community top priority, where all schools, libraries, community groups,
responsible corporations and parents join forces to identify and implement
appropriate solutions.
The development of the Internet has been called the most profound change in the way we communicate since the invention of the printing press. Users can access an almost limitless array of rewarding content at the click of a mouse. Familiarity with this technology is vital to our children's future. For today's children to lead tomorrow's world, they must acquire the skills to access the enormous benefits of the Internet, safely. It is especially important that they develop key job skills and an awareness of the increasingly global community. The Internet can empower our children, giving them the ability to communicate and share ideas and information on a worldwide basis. As wonderful as the future of the Internet may be, the extensive media coverage of various "potholes" on the Information Highway is not an exercise in fiction - there are problems which cannot be swept under the rug. These problems must be addressed squarely in order to protect our children and maximize the potential of the Internet. The Internet Online Summit: Focus on Children Mission Statement identifies our common goal - to make our children's online experience safe, educational and entertaining, while honoring constitutional safeguards. A diverse group has put aside their differing philosophies in order to further this important goal. The Summit enables us to work together to encourage the evolution of the Internet as a truly beneficial medium for our children. There are many issues affecting children
and the Internet. These include equitable access, marketing and advertising
practices, quality content, privacy, and safety from harmful content and
illegal activity, among others. Each of these topics needs to be examined
thoroughly. The mission of this first Summit, and, therefore, the focus
of this paper, is personal safety and protecting children from illegal
and harmful material online - in particular, the twin issues of access
to our children by pedophiles and access to pornography by our children.
In 1996, 4 million children accessed the Internet from home, double the number from the year before. Recently, this number has been reported to have increased to 10 million, and is expected to exceed 20 million by the year 2002. The Internet is not a passing fad, like hula hoops or pet rocks. It will continue to grow because those who go online find it incredibly useful. For about $20 a month, all the information you could want on just about any topic is probably available somewhere online. Nevertheless, it is important for this growth to take place safely. The vast majority of our 70 million U.S. children don't access the Internet from home. To reach its full potential, families as a whole must be encouraged to get online. But this won't happen unless the Internet industry can demonstrate to families that their children can venture into cyberspace safely. This is not an issue of public relations. It is an issue of substance, key to the growth of the Internet. Although many of the risks encountered
in cyberspace also exist in the "physical world," the interactive nature
of the Internet - especially when the children often understand more about
the Internet than their parents, teachers, librarians, and other care givers
- makes it harder to protect our children online. In addition, many common
sense measures used in the "physical world," are not applicable in the
cyberworld. A pedophile could not enter a schoolyard disguised as a child,
but can easily pretend to be a child in an online chat room. A child who
could not browse through Hustler in a convenience store can view sexually-explicit
images online, legal or illegal. For the Internet to develop its full potential,
these risks must be realistically addressed.
The following areas are of substantial
concern to parents and other care givers:
Access by
pedophiles to children:
There are recurring press reports of pedophiles using chat rooms (note 2) to lure children into physical meetings. According to a recent national newspaper report, chat rooms are the most popular activity for children online, yet most chat rooms are unsupervised. Many are "private," accessible only by invitation and special passwords (which may be provided to children by e-mail or "instant-type" messages to the screen of a targeted child). Through use of chat rooms, adult strangers can have direct one-to-one access to our children. The "safe" home setting, combined with our children's natural trust, may lead them to forget that these people are strangers. This makes it easier for the pedophile to prey on children who would never talk to a stranger in the "real world." Police investigators report that when they
identify themselves as teenaged girls in chat rooms they are frequently
approached by strangers making sexual advances. In addition, pedophiles
have created a community online, where they can validate their behavior
with other like-minded individuals and share information and "tricks of
the trade."
Access by
children to pornography.
Pornography which is legally restricted to adults in the physical world can easily be accessed by children on the Internet. Also, children can easily access obscene materials, which are illegal even for adults in the United States. Children can be exposed to this content intentionally or unintentionally and can also receive unsolicited links to adult sites. Children can inadvertently view sexually-explicit content in several ways: Distribution of child pornography. Child pornography is different from other pornography, and consequently receives more stringent legal treatment. It is distinguished as an issue of child abuse - in its production and/or in the way it is used by pedophiles to desensitize their victims. The growth of the Internet has provided child pornographers with a distribution vehicle which is perceived to be relatively anonymous. In its project "Innocent Images," FBI personnel acknowledged earlier this year (note 4) that the bureau has a database of at least 4,000 cases of child pornography being distributed online. Much of the media message to parents has been devoted to the dangers, as opposed to the educational and communication benefits, of the Internet. It must be remembered that the Internet is composed mainly of "good" content, which is one reason why the potential of the Internet is so exciting. Pornography sites make up only a small fraction of the sites on the Internet. The percentage of pornographic to good content doesn't tell the whole story, however, since the "bad apples" are the most heavily accessed (note 5). Everyone agrees that it is important for
families not to have reason to be frightened away from the Internet. It
is, therefore, incumbent on the Internet industry, responsible corporations
and commercial sites to work with parents, educators, advocacy groups and
law enforcement to create a safe online environment for children.
Parents bear the primary responsibility for teaching their children to be wise and safe Internet users. To do that, parents need to be aware of practical and helpful resources, safety tips and technology. Especially in an era of two-career families and single-parent families, however, parents cannot do the job alone. It is not possible (or even desirable) for parents to be with their children constantly, and the home is not the only point of access to the Internet. The problem is further complicated by the fact that some parents are not yet computer savvy. To meet this challenge, parents need to be educated and to become more familiar with Internet uses and risks. They also need and deserve the joint commitment and creative support of the Internet industry, responsible corporations, community groups, schools, libraries, and law enforcement. The need for increased public awareness was the catalyst for the joint efforts of the Summit participants in creating a Public Education initiative, which is expected to be announced at the Summit. Responsible corporations and commercial sites can develop more child appropriate content. In addition, several community groups have started to develop pre-approved site lists and focused search engines that prescreen content of included sites, to allow groups to select their own desired content, based upon their community values and standards. By combining parental involvement with
technology industry solutions, enforcement of current laws, and public
education, the entire community can join forces to develop the full potential
of the Internet while also protecting our children.
President Clinton six months ago announced an expansive plan to build a family-friendly Internet by giving children a "seat belt" for cyberspace. The White House plan called for cooperation from the Internet industry to provide parents and teachers with "easy-to-use" child protection technology. It also promised continued enforcement of existing laws designed to protect children in cyberspace and encouraged parents to learn more about the Internet in order to help guide their children online. Ultimately, the parent's involvement is critical for successful online experiences - just as it is to avoid other pitfalls of life such as alcohol or drug abuse. Parents need to educate their children about online safety, including the possibility of encountering pedophiles, which means that parents themselves must become familiar with the medium. This may mean exploring Cyberspace alongside their children, and giving worldly guidance and wisdom screen-by-screen, in exchange for technical tips from their offspring. The key step is for parents to become involved, regardless of their level of technical savvy, and maintain a continuing dialogue with their children. Parents should make it clear that the child can safely bring online incidents to the parents' attention, without being blamed or having the Internet banned from the home. Without this trust, the parents will simply never hear what happens online, whether in the home, at school or in the library. Although the important initial step of becoming involved requires willingness, not technical knowledge, parents do need opportunities to improve their Internet savvy - not to engage in a battle of Internet knowledge with their offspring (which they are destined to lose), but to act as better mentors for the decisions their children must take. Parents cannot make informed decisions unless they understand the scope of material available online. Parents can implement non-technical rules of the road. For example: B - Digital Toolbox If parents have the ultimate responsibility for their children, it is the "Internet industry" (in its broadest sense) which is uniquely positioned to either help or hinder the parent. The industry is closest to the medium, understands the technology and can develop and deploy an effective, easy-to-use "digital toolbox" of user empowerment tools - including codes of conduct to guide the development of the Internet. As more industry groups realize that addressing parents' concerns is good business, undoubtedly more and more creative solutions will be developed. Better education about available tools, simpler methods of operation and greater flexibility will be significant steps forward in giving parents the tools needed to maintain family standards of behavior online. Sometimes a combination of tools from the
digital toolbox may be applicable to meet the needs of parents. A list
of software tools and parental control options has been compiled in conjunction
with the Summit, and is referenced as Appendix I.
The starting point for many families using
online service providers (OSPs) such as America Online (AOL), CompuServe,
and Prodigy is the service's included parental controls which come with
the online service software, at no additional cost. Parental controls can
allow parents to curtail e-mail, instant messages, Internet access, online
access beyond a closed system, and chat room access beyond monitored chat
rooms. Although they may use the same technology as the most popular software
programs below, they are more limited in scope and thus easier to set for
those with some familiarity. One OSP (Microsoft Network (MSN)) has simplified
installation by making "controls on" the default setting for their browser.
Blocking
and filtering software solutions:
These software programs are installed on the home computer, and include CyberPatrol, Net Nanny, Surf Watch and CYBERsitter, among others. Most of the parental control programs have predetermined "bad sites" which are blocked when the program is activated, and screen other sites based upon certain content and keyword preferences set by the parents. The database of "bad sites" needs to be updated regularly, and some companies charge for update subscriptions.Some of these programs monitor computer activity both online and offline and may provide a two-way blocking feature to prevent your children from sending certain information to others. Although filters are a partial solution,
they are not a substitute for parental oversight. The software, although
improving daily, is still imperfect and tech savvy kids have been known
to circumvent it. Some parents find them difficult to install and configure
This approach means that you don't install
the filtering software on your computer - your OSP or Internet Service
Provider (ISP) does. It's easier to use, since no installation is done
by the parent and updating is carried by the access provider. Some products
permit customizing at the desktop level. It's also harder for children
to by-pass, and some ISPs are beginning to offer this service. Legal protection
to the ISP for possible "leaks" comes from the clients' written acknowledgment
that the results are "best efforts" (rather than guaranteed) and the Good
Samaritan provisions of the Communications Decency Act. In an age of one-stop
shopping, it is no surprise that many parents would prefer the option of
obtaining "already-filtered" Internet access instead of "do-it-yourself"
filtering. Since this service is a customer choice, freedom of speech is
not an issue.
Under this approach sites are rated either by the website operators themselves, or by third party rating services. Web browsers or other software follow the PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) protocol to read the site ratings, allowing access only to those selected by the parents. Different rating entities, such as RSACi (Recreational Software Advisory Council on the Internet), Net Shepherd and SafeSurf provide different categories to label sites. Parent wishing to use these ratings should familiarize themselves with the different categories, selecting the entity whose categories most closely match their concerns. RSACi has approximately 45,000 rated web
sites, while Net Shepherd ( a commercial rating service) has over 500,000.
Collectively, less than 25% of the Web is currently rated, and the number
of websites increases daily. Some believe that comprehensive rating will
only occur if it becomes mandatory, but there is no consensus on the appropriateness
of such a requirement. With approximately 2 million separate websites,
the task is huge and coverage is still relatively small.
Many search engines, in order to avoid
the problems noted above, have created special search engines for special
communities. While this is first being applied to child friendly content,
such as Yahooligans! (Yahoo's! Child friendly search engine) and Digital
Altavista's and Net Shepherd's new family search engine, some community
special interest groups are using this technology to create lists of pre-screened
sites for their members that match their special needs and search criteria.
Reviewed
and recommended content
Similar to the special pre-screened search
engines are specially-compiled lists of reviewed and recommended sites.
These sites are examined, along with links from those sites, and given
a seal of approval by community or private groups, rather like a movie
reviewed by a favorite movie reviewer. Users learn to trust the judgment
of certain reviewers and certain brand names. Jean Armour Polly's The Internet
Kids and Family Yellow Pages (1997, Osborne-McGraw-Hill) is a good example
of reviewed and recommended content. Both brand-name content and other
pre-screened sites need to be constantly monitored to ensure that the selected
sites continue to meet their selection criteria. Such lists also have no
"barrier" to impede links to less worthwhile sites (although parental controls
and filtering software can restrict access to all but selected sites).
Closed systems
and communities
Closed systems and closed online areas
are designed to be consistent in the nature and quality of their content.
Closed systems can be provided by the OSPs (such as Kids Only on AOL),
by brand-name sites (such as Disney Blast), or by other free-access sites
(such as Bonus.com). On such sites the parent can be sure that the content
is prescreened and all interaction supervised.
Codes of
ethical conduct and responsible commercial activity
This area is just beginning to come into focus, and is a direction being taken in other Western countries. Some access providers (such as AOL and Erol's Internet Service) have made efforts to remove from their servers Usenet newsgroups which carry child pornography. MSN has restricted access to Usenet newsgroups which contain illegal content and promote hacking and software piracy activities. Many online services and ISPs have carefully enforced terms of service policies, which prohibit the use of certain language, restrict certain activities (including use of offensive language or sexual content) and otherwise regulate online behavior. Since these are contractual arrangements with their members as a condition to being given an account with the provider, rather than government activity, free speech issues are not applicable. Other steps which ISPs could take - in addition to providing the option of server-level filtering - could include terms-of-service policies forbidding the use of their service to post child pornography or hard-core pornography or to sexually solicit children; not knowingly hosting illegal material; and removing clearly illegal and obscene material which is brought to their attention. The industry's technology and codes of
conduct can lead to market-driven solutions to enable access to valuable
content and communications based on individual values and to enable service
and content providers, and others, to create family-friendly environments.
The parent's actions in the home, through
direct involvement and the "digital toolbox," affect only one source of
Internet access. The other primary sources of Internet access for children
are the schools and libraries. A 1996 study reported that nearly 30 percent
of U.S. public libraries were connected to the Internet and the number
today is probably closer to 40-45%. Similarly, President Clinton is committed
to all children being online in the schools by the year 2000; a commitment
shared by members of the Internet industry who are actively involved in
wiring schools.
Historically, libraries have been constrained in their materials selection by limited funds and limited shelving. Libraries have also based material purchases on carefully drafted selection policies. The Internet is outside these selection policies in many libraries. The Internet gives access to materials not commonly found in public libraries, ranging from expensive reference works to illegal pornography. While many libraries report no problems with this approach, others have detailed incidents where materials accessed and printed have caused serious concern to patrons or employees. Although installation of filtering software might seem to be a simple solution, there is no consensus in the librarianship community on whether libraries should use such technology to limit children's Internet access. Some believe that this would be constitutionally inappropriate if anything other than illegal material is blocked (thus effectively ruling out filters). Others argue that existing selection policies are usually based on qualitative and not merely legal criteria, and filtering is merely an extension of that process. Child advocates want children to be safe
no matter where they are, including at the library. And everyone agrees
that school, library and community access plays an important role in our
children's online development and education. In order for these institutions
to properly address the needs of our children, parents must play an active
role. In addition, each library should have clear policies regarding Internet
access and those policies should be proactively communicated to parents.
Similar issues are being debated in the school setting, with the additional consideration that it is simply not possible (or desirable) for parents to accompany their children through the school day. The shared responsibility is, therefore, even more compelling, especially given the Supreme Court's statement of the fundamental right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. The National Education Association Center for Education Technology (note 6) recommends that all schools develop "acceptable use" policies. Many parents believe that such policies should require adult supervision of students during online sessions, prohibit intentional viewing of inappropriate material (which should be defined in the policy) and employ appropriate measures to protect children from such material. Many school libraries follow the American
Library Association's recommendation to provide unfiltered access regardless
of age, while other schools are adopting filtering or closed systems such
as Edview. As with public libraries, such policies should be proactively
communicated to parents, so that parents have the opportunity to evaluate
them and so that schools can respect the right of parents to play a role
in their children's use of the Internet while at school.
Misunderstandings about the Communication
Decency Act (CDA) have left many confused about whether there are any laws
which regulate pornography on the Internet. The short answer is that while
there are laws which prohibit certain pornography on the Internet, there
are insufficient resources being applied to enforce the laws online. There
are also certain gaps in the law which need to be understood.
Existing
laws applying to pornography on the Internet
Gaps in the existing law Unfortunately, adults are currently free
to distribute non-obscene adult sexual content to children online without
legal recourse. This creates the following irony: publishers and distributors
of pornographic magazines or videos are legally forbidden from selling,
renting, or displaying them to children in a bookstore or video store;
but the same publishers and distributors are legally free to sell or display
those same magazines and videos to children online.
Because the Internet is a global community, efforts to guide and protect children online require the same international cooperation and involvement as has been shown to deal with issues such as encryption, copyright and hacking. The U.S. is not alone in its concern for children's online safety:
All are in agreement that programs must be developed to provide guidance for parents, educators, librarians and children. Programs must also educate the public about online risks and current laws that can be used to protect children from these online risks. The need for increased public awareness was the catalyst for the joint efforts of the Summit participants in creating a Public Education initiative, which is expected to be announced at the Summit. Parents and other care givers must be empowered to enforce the choices they make for their children. A development of new software tools will enable parents to pick and choose from among the tools and other solutions available to find a safe and beneficial avenue for their children in cyberspace. Public education must be designed to teach parents and other care givers how to deal with inappropriate or illegal activity that may occur online. Working to ensure that the public--especially parents, children, librarians and educators--understand the new challenges, opportunities and responsibilities of this new medium, and the need to guide children's Internet online experiences, as well as the availability and degree of effectiveness of a variety of user empowerment tools in the "digital toolbox." Parents who find criminal content while online, should contact one of the following numbers:
The above 24-hour number for the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has been in existence
since 1986. In addition to the hotline, the NCMEC will be launching the
CyberTipline (www.missingkids.com/cybertip) in early 1998. The CyberTipline
will allow Internet users to report tips and leads regarding the sexual
exploitation of children in cyberspace online. The information will then
be forwarded to law enforcement agencies and ISPs and OSPs as appropriate.
Parents who discover violations of terms
of service in online services, such as AOL, Prodigy and CompuServe, should
report them to the online services, as well. Their children should be taught
to bring these things to their parents attention, and not get involved
in online "flaming" matches or otherwise confront others online.
This paper has to some extent focused on
the dark side of the Internet. In order to bring families online, however,
they must be able to fully appreciate and access the tremendous benefits
of the Internet. The bright side of the Internet is a wonderful place with
millions of interesting sites for families and children. Our children can
improve their communication skills online and meet people from other countries
and cultures. Families can share information, photos and stories with the
world and other family members. They can learn to be creative and share
their creativity. Our children can research school projects right from
home and families can plan vacations online. The list goes on and on...
It's estimated that over 44 billion e-mail
messages will be sent from home computers in 1997, for an average of 52
per week, per household. It's fast becoming an inexpensive and convenient
alternative for using the telephone, and a faster alternative to snail
mail (the computer term for regular postal service mail). Families are
staying in touch with other family members via e-mail. In e-mail, schedules
and time zones are irrelevant. You send it when you can, and the recipients
reply when they can. The Internet is always open, around the world. It's
also much more affordable than transnational and international phone calls,
when parents are traveling on business or family members live abroad.
Parents can review their children's reports
and term papers for school, making suggestions for improvements, and calling
certain resources to their attention, all by e-mail. It may be a poor substitute
for family dinners and working side by side in the family room, but given
the demands on parents with their careers and community activities, and
those on children with their own activities and responsibilities, it works.
And it works both ways. Children can share
information with others by attaching articles and other information to
their e-mail messages. Families who use e-mail regularly report that they
share more with each other.
There are also resources online for parents
and special families, with special needs. These sites range from adoption
sites, sites for parents of disabled children, sites for siblings of disabled
children, sites for seriously and terminally ill children, sites for deaf
children, and for children in wheelchairs, sites for foster parents, step
parents and single parents, for parents of twins and higher multiples and
for grandparents raising their grandchildren. (note
8). Everyone can find a community online.
In order to reach its full potential, Internet
content providers must develop quality online content to enrich and educate
our children and families. Ways must be created to identify trusted good
site guides, and to create child-focused "safe-Internet-zones," safe havens
or closed systems. Branded sites and community-based ratings must be created,
to help evaluate and recommend valuable and safe content. Parents and children
need to develop online literacy skills, as well, in order to be able to
locate and identify reliable information online.
Given the unlimited potential of global
communication and information sources online, the more families know about
the benefits of the Internet the sooner they will become insistent about
their desire to see more of this beneficial content made available. Good
and valuable content development will become good business.
One of the clear points of consensus among
children, parents, industry representatives, schools, libraries, and law
enforcement officials is that the Internet can be an immensely valuable
means of communication. It allows easy access to online resources and tools,
fosters collaboration, and expands the opportunities open to all its users.
The Internet is becoming increasingly important for the transfer of both
commerce and knowledge in today's competitive world.
At the same time, children's access to
all of the world's information, and all of the world's people, may not
always be in their best interests. Certain shortfalls and dangers exist
and must be identified and addressed.
Parents are the ultimate arbiters of their
children's online experiences: where they go, with whom they chat, and
what information they disclose. But parents should not be expected to bear
all the responsibility of this job alone. In order for the Internet to
be a safe, educational, and entertaining medium for children, responsibility
must be shared by the public (which includes parents, educators and others),
the technology industry, and the law enforcement community. Each must bear
their share of responsibility and act with due diligence. With this community
stewardship, the Internet will not only be a rewarding place for children
but a safe one as well.
The following signatories (received as
of 5:00 PM, November 26, 1997) appreciate the efforts of the sub-committee
of the Child Advocacy Working Group which prepared this document and encourage
continuing dialogue on these important matters.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Law Center for Children & Families SafeSurf NetShepherd NetNanny Technology Tool Kit - a pamphlet based
on the Technology Inventory by Lorrie Faith Cranor (AT&T Labs - Research)
and Paul Resnick (The University of Michigan School of Information) - http://www.research.att.com/projects/tech4kids
Provided by Enough is Enough
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