AU - Govt, industry welcome new online code of practice

(Computerworld)
The Communications minister has signaled the Australian government's support for the Content Services Code, an Internet Industry Association code of practice for providers of online and mobile phone content. This establishes a framework for the regulation of content services, such as Internet streaming and 3G mobile services, to provide protection to children from exposure to unsuitable content and ensure content providers adhere to requirements of the new code.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Self-regulation_Codes_of_Conduct

UK - Survey says 11% of kids have online sex chats

(PC Advisor)
11 percent of children have had a sexually explicit conversation online, according to a survey by The Carphone Warehouse. The Mobile Life survey, which polled 6,000 adults and children about their web and mobile habits also revealed that a quarter of 11 to 18 years olds had visited adult websites and 10 percent had met people they first interacted with online. Almost half the children surveyed admitted they lie to their parents about their online activities, with most using homework as a cover for surfing the net or social networking. Thirty-three percent revealed they would be in trouble if their parents knew what they were really looking at.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Statistics

UK - Children discuss internet safety

(BBC)
Children from around the world are meeting in London to discuss how they can better protect themselves from the dangers posed by the internet. More than 150 teenagers from 19 different countries will attend the five-day conference and voice their opinions to government and industry. Their aim is to draw up a global online charter to be presented to the UN. see also Canberra kids to give Aussie insight at global online safety forum (Computerworld) and Young Canadians Attend International Youth Advisory Congress on Online Safety and Security Conference (RCMP Media Relations).

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors

UK - 'Children at risk' from bank's Visa card

(BBC)
Children as young as 11 are being given debit cards which allow them to buy goods such as cigarettes and Viagra over the internet, without their parents' permission. The high street bank Lloyds TSB, which sends out the Visa cards to youngsters, last night came under fire from politicians and credit charities for placing children at risk. The bank claims guardians can opt out of the service for their children ? but admits to sending the cards directly to their customers with a parental guidance leaflet which the youngsters should pass on.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

EU - EDPS Opinion on safer Internet for children

(RAPID)
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has adopted an Opinion on the proposed multiannual Community programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication technologies. The EDPS fully supports the general orientations of the programme aiming at more efficiently protecting children using the Internet, while adapting to the evolution of new technologies. He stresses the fact that the protection of children's data is an essential first step in guaranteeing more safety and prevention of abuse on the Internet. Data protection considerations should also apply to all persons who are connected in some way with the information circulating on the network to prevent illegal content and harmful conduct (e.g. person reported as suspect, reporting person, victim of abuse). Data protection authorities play a decisive role in the protection of children on the Internet. This should be taken into consideration when it comes to the implementation of the multiannual programme; any reporting system to be put in place in order to report illegal or harmful content online has to take into account the existing data protection framework. Guarantees related to the supervision of the system, in principle by law enforcement authorities, are decisive elements to comply with this framework; filtering or blocking tools to control access to networks should be used cautiously, bearing in mind their potential adverse effect (e.g. preventing access to legitimate information) and taking advantage of the privacy enhancing opportunities offered by technology; the development of best practices by the industry should be promoted. However, the surveillance of telecommunication networks, where necessary in specific circumstances, should be the task of law enforcement authorities.

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Protection_of_minors

UK - Youths 'buy violent games online'

(BBC)
Children are able to illegally buy violent video games through online auction websites, the UK's Trading Standards Institute has said. Almost 90% of retailers tested by the association sold under-18s games, such as Manhunt 2, through such outlets. Traders supplying games to an under-age person in breach of official classifications can face a fine or up to six months in jail.

Labels: Electronic_commerce, Protection_of_minors, Video_games

EU - Public consultation on Age Verification, Cross Media Rating and Classification, and Online Social Networking

(Europa)
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on age verification, cross media rating and classification, and online social networking. The purpose of the public consultation is to gather the knowledge and views of all relevant stakeholders (including public bodies, child safety and consumer organisations, industry). The gathered information will be fed into this year's Safer Internet Forum 2008, which will be dedicated to the above mentioned topics. The consultation will be open until 31 July 2008.

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors, Rating_and_filtering, Social_networking

FR- Nadine Morano préconise une norme Afnor pour les logiciels de contrôle parental

(vnunet.fr)
A l'Atelier "Protection de l'Enfant" organisé par la secrétaire d'Etat en charge de la Famille dans le cadre des Assises du Numérique, la ministre a déclaré qu'"Il n'y aurait pas de confiance dans l'économie numérique sans protection des enfants sur le Web" et que cette protection devait reposer, "comme une voie ferrée, sur deux rails parallèles : le filtrage des sitespédopornographiques et les logiciels de contrôle parental." Sur le premier point, un accord doit être trouvé entre les différents ministères concernés et les fournisseurs d'accès. Une étude de faisabilité technique a été confiée au Forum des droits sur l'Internet. Nadine Morano a d'ailleurs rappelé son engagement à ce que ces fameux logiciels de filtrage atteignent un meilleur taux de performance. Un dispositif plus lourd d'élaboration du cahier des charges de ces logiciels de contrôle - passant peut-être par une norme Afnor - et de contrôle de ces outils - le processus d'évaluation resterait à définir - devrait être prochainement étudié avec les FAI. Enfin, la ministre a promis pour la fin de l'année une grande campagne audiovisuelle et multimédia de sensibilisation des parents aux dangers d'internet pour les jeunes.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Rating_and_filtering

Online safety as we know it: Becoming obsolete?

(NetFamily News)
The headline may seem a bit inflammatory, but it's a sincere suggestion coming from 10+ years of observing and participating in the online-safety field. What we all know about online youth now from a substantial and growing body of research suggests it's time to reassess. Young people make little distinction between online and offline and move constantly and fluidly between the two. The Internet has increasingly become a mirror of "real life". It's the young people at risk offline who are most at risk online, so expertise in adolescent at-risk behavior is necessary to the discussion. Where people with experience in online safety can help is by educating the public that online safety and well-being is not separate from "real life" and needs the same accountability; educating the public about how the Internet affects real-world actions or comments; serving as information clearing-houses and connectors to the right kind of expertise for predation, bullying, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

DE - Jugend- und Datenschutz in der digitalen Welt

(Deutsches Digital Institut) Workshop in Berlin am 21. Mai 2008. Teilnehmer u.a. Frank Zimmermann (SPD-Fraktion im Abgeordnetenhaus), Marcus Riecke (studiVZ), Joel Berger (MySpace), Grietje Staffelt (Grünen-Fraktion im Bundestag), Sabine Frank (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Multimediadiensteanbieter). Die klassischen Instrumente des Jugend- und Datenschutzes werden den Anforderungen der neuen Sozialen Netzwerke nicht gerecht. Dies ist das Fazit des mit hochkarätigen Vertretern aus den Bereichen Politik und Medien, Betreiber und Nutzer der führenden Sozialen Netzwerke besetzten Workshops des Deutschen Digitalen Instituts, Berlin.

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - McCanns back web child initiative

(BBC)
The parents of Madeleine McCann have backed a scheme to use social networking websites Facebook and Bebo to help trace missing children. The charity Missing People has launched the initiative to coincide with International Missing Children's Day.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

DE - German services seize 'eBay baby'

(BBC)
Authorities in Bavaria, southern Germany, have taken a seven-month-old boy into care after his parents offered him for sale on eBay "as a joke". The unnamed child was advertised as a "nearly-new baby" with a starting price of one euro (£0.80, $1.6).

Labels: Electronic_commerce, Protection_of_minors

AU - Budget provides policing for internet safety

(Press Release)
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has announced a targeted plan to create a safer online environment for Australian children. The Government's cyber-safety funding will provide $49 million to law enforcement, ensuring that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Child Protection Operations Team can expand its capacity to detect and investigate online child abuse, with 91 additional AFP members dedicated to online child protection by 2011. Central to the Government?s plan to make the internet a safer place for children is the introduction of Internet Service Provider (ISP) level filtering of material such as child pornography. The ISP filtering policy is being developed through an informed and considered approach, including a laboratory trial, extensive industry consultation, and close examination of overseas models to assess their suitability for Australia. In addition, the Government is developing a range of measures to help empower children to be responsible online participants. It will provide parents, teachers, trainee teachers, librarians and children with up-to-date, comprehensive and age-appropriate online cyber-safety resources and assistance.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

Penguins offer safer surfing

(FT)
Club Penguin, the virtual online world for six- to 14-year-olds is rapidly growing into a global phenomenon. Club Penguin has 20m users and analysts estimate up to 10 per cent of them have persuaded parents to pay about £4 a month for souped-up access to the site. Safety features were a big selling point from the outset. Club Penguin employs more than 100 moderators who monitor the site for unsafe behaviour. They are trained to spot bullying, or attempts to share contact details. Pictures cannot be posted on the site. Instead, children are represented by a colourful penguin. Filtering software prevents phone numbers being published.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

FR - De nouvelles solutions pour protéger les enfants du Net

(Le Parisien)
MSN, la messagerie instantanée utilisée par 70 % des jeunes internautes français, lance officiellement aujourd'hui un nouveau logiciel gratuit de contrôle parental. Ce dernier était très attendu par les associations de lutte pour la protection des mineurs sur Internet. Il va enfin permettre aux parents de contrôler - à distance et en direct - tout nouvel « ami » qui voudrait entrer en contact avec leur enfant.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

US - Games don't create killers, new book says

(Reuters)
Playing video games does not turn children into deranged, blood-thirsty super-killers, according to a new book by a pair of Harvard researchers. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, detail their views in "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do," which promises to reshape the debate on the effects of video games on kids.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Video_games

US Digital media's impact on youth: Fresh research

(Net Family News)
"America's young people spend more time using media than they do on any single activity other than sleeping," according to The Future of Children, a joint project of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. So we all need to know how our children and students use media - the Web, phones, videogames, instant messaging, music, video, TV, etc. - and how they affect their users. The just-released new issue of the project's journal Children and Electronic Media, published semi-annually, "looks at the best available evidence on whether and how exposure to different media forms is linked to child well-being."

Labels: Internet_access_and_use, Protection_of_minors, Statistics

Boom times for virtual playgrounds

(BBC)
For many years the average video gamer has been male and aged 24 or more. But casual games and the appearance of the Nintendo Wii have changed that profile and now it looks like it is about to change again. Research suggests that there are about 158 online games and virtual worlds in development or up and running designed specifically for children. See graph

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking, Video_games

US - Facebook agrees child safety plan

(BBC)
Facebook is to add a slew of new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyber bullies. At the heart of the changes are efforts to ban convicted sex offenders from the site and finding better ways to verify users' ages and identities. The agreement was announced by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in a deal along with other attorneys general around America. see also After long negotiations, Facebook agrees to safety plan with state AGs (CNET). Press Release (Attorney-General of Connecticut). Text of agreement.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

EU - Commission Communication on Video Games

(RAPDI)
The European video games sector is dynamic, with expected revenue of € 7.3 billion by the end of 2008. However, public concerns that video games can cause aggressive behaviour, heightened by school shootings such as in Helsinki (Finland, November 2007), have led several national authorities to ban or block video games such as "Manhunt 2". In response, the European Commission has surveyed existing measures protecting minors from harmful video games across the 27 EU Member States. 20 EU Member States now apply PEGI (Pan European Games Information), an age-rating system developed by industry, with EU support, since 2003. In the Commission's view, industry must invest more to strengthen and in particular to regularly update the PEGI system so that it becomes a truly effective pan-European tool. Also, industry and public authorities should step up cooperation to make classification and age rating systems better known and to avoid confusion caused by parallel systems. A Code of Conduct for retailers should be drawn up within two years on sales of video games to minors. See Communication on the protection of consumers, in particular minors, in respect of the use of video games COM(2008) 207 final.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Self-regulation_Codes_of_Conduct, Video_games

US - Groups seek to shield minors' Web data

(Los Angeles Times)
A coalition of medical groups and child advocates called for guidelines that would prevent Internet companies from tracking the behavior of minors online, contending that many adolescents are divulging more than they realize and aren't digesting complex privacy policies. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Assn. were among those asking the Federal Trade Commission to encourage the Internet industry to stop profiling young Web surfers by monitoring the sites they visit and the interests they list on social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. Childrens' Advocy Group filing. See also Microsoft not opposed to regulation of online privacy (CNet). See Online Behavioral Advertising: Moving the Discussion Forward to Possible Self-Regulatory Principles Public Comments (FTC).

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - A generation of youth are being 'raised online'

(IPPR)
Many young people are effectively being 'raised online' spending in excess of 20 hours a week using sites such as bebo, Myspace, Facebook and YouTube, according to new research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr). This is over three times higher than previous official estimates. This new research comes ahead of the final report of the Byron Review of children and new technology, set up by Gordon Brown in 2007 and headed by Dr Tanya Byron. See Behind the Screen: the Hidden Life of Youth by Kay Withers with Ruth Sheldon.

Labels: Media literacy, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking, Statistics

UK - Concerns raised over online child safety

(Guardian)
Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, has said that some internet service providers were not doing enough to protect children online. "Some people who say they are co-operating aren't," Gamble told the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, but admitted that they were a "minority" of service providers.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

High Tech or High Risk: Moral Panics about Girls Online

(MIT Journals)
by Justine Cassell, ­ Meg Cramer. We argue that the current moral outrage and national panic over the risks of victimization faced by girls on the Internet has nothing to do with risks faced by girls on the Internet. Based on historical, cross-cultural, and discourse analyses, we draw four conclusions. Each and every time a new communication technology is introduced, it spurs very public fears on the part of parents and educators, putatively about the effects of that technology on girls' (sexual) innocence. The statistics show that predatory behavior on adolescent girls has a certain profile that has either not changed over the decade since the Internet became popular, or has improved over time. The Internet dangerously unfetters girls' spaces and risks changing our image of what girls can do, and where they can go. This challenges the social order. Girls' masterful use of the Internet also challenges the view that technology is dangerous and an inappropriate interest for girls, and in this sense the moral panic around girls online is a way of policing the relationship between girls and technology.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

Ban junk food advertising on internet, say campaigners

(Guardian)
Food and drink companies should be banned from marketing unhealthy snacks and drinks to young children via new media such as social networking sites and text messaging, a coalition of international consumer groups and health bodies recommends. The group is urging governments to adopt a code that they say would curb the rising obesity rates among children. The code would restrict junk food marketing, including outlawing the use of cartoon characters, celebrity tie-ins, free gifts and competitions aimed at younger audiences.

Labels: Consumer_protection, Health, Protection_of_minors

CoE - Declaration on protecting the dignity, security and privacy of children on the internet

(Council of Europe)
The traceability of children's activities on the internet may expose them to criminal activities (for example the solicitation or "grooming" of children for sexual purposes, discrimination, bullying, stalking and other forms of harassment). Children need to be informed about the enduring presence of, and the risks associated with, the content they create on the internet. The right to privacy and the secrecy of correspondence is not respected on the internet. The profiling of information and the retention of personal data regarding children's activities can be used for commercial purposes. The Committee of Ministers asks member states to work together to explore the feasibility of removing or deleting such content and its traces within a reasonably short period of time. See Full text of the Declaration

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Protection_of_minors

UK - MPs get web filter 'dark ages' warning

(Guardian)
A Microsoft executive told MPs that forcing software companies to install internet content filtering technology with high-security settings as standard to all computers would send the UK back to the "dark ages". The idea of forcing companies such as Microsoft to pre-install high security content filters was raised at a Commons culture, media and sport select committee hearing on protecting children from harmful content on the internet and in video games.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

US - Teens posting personal info: Study

(NetFamilyNews)
We now have further insights into teens' info-sharing practices in the Journal of Adolescence. According to this, 8.8% revealed their full name, 57% included a picture, 27.8% listed their school and 0.3% provided their telephone number. The authors concluded that "the problem of personal information disclosure on MySpace may not be as widespread as many assume, and the overwhelming majority of adolescents are responsibly using the web site." Personal information of adolescents on the Internet: A quantitative content analysis of MySpace by Sameer Hindujaa and Justin W. Patchin

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

Kids safer in 'networks' than chat rooms

(Yahoo!7)
Social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook are safer places for children to chat than other types of internet sites, according to a new survey. The survey, which involved 1,588 children between the ages of 10 and 15 years old, found 28 per cent had been harassed via a social networking site, compared to 33 per cent for the internet as a whole. The survey, which was conducted by Internet Solutions for Kids in California and the University of New Hampshire, appears in the prestigious journal Paediatrics.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking, Statistics

US - MySpace regulation a must: Students agree federal government not right for task

(Fosters.com)
At least one expert and several young MySpace users are somewhat skeptical of a recent agreement between MySpace and the National Association of Attorneys General to tighten security. David Finkelhor, director of the UNH Crimes Against Children Research Center, said there are elements of the agreement that could be "difficult to maintain." See also Key researcher's view on MySpace/AGs accord (Net Family News).

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

Social networking sites claim safety comes first

(Guardian)
In a survey by the popular teen site Piczo, which offers creative tools to help users customise their profile pages, users said they felt safer online than they did this time last year, despite what many feel are increased safety risks. Piczo's European managing director, Chris Seth, said online safety falls into two areas; access and monitoring. He said Piczo, which claims more than 10m unique users each month, has worked with the Silicon Valley start-up Keibi on the development of monitoring software. This is used in combination with a team of 20 safety officers, who check random pages and also monitor the site for blacklisted keywords and phrases, aided by scanning software. See also Teens 'under false sense of security' online (netimperative).

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - Web worries after suicide spate

(BBC)
Social networking websites could be "romanticising" suicide, an MP claims after the deaths of seven young people from her area in the past year. Bridgend MP Madeleine Moon will raise internet use issues with police. Mrs Moon said she was growing increasingly worried by the appearance of so-called "memory walls" on networking sites like Bebo, where members leave messages to mark the death of a friend.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - MP calls for law to force online shops to verify age

(OUT-LAW News)
A bill has been introduced in Parliament which would force online retailers to check customers' ages before selling goods that cannot be sold to children. The Online Purchasing of Goods and Services (Age Verification) Bill received its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday when it was introduced by Labour MP Margaret Moran as a private member's bill. Moran said in a speech to the House of Commons that e-commerce provided people under 18 with a loophole, enabling them to buy age-restricted goods such as alcohol, cigarettes and pornography.

Labels: Electronic_commerce, Protection_of_minors

EU - European Parliament resolution: Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child

(EP Press Release)
An EU strategy on the rights of the child won Parliament's backing with 630 votes in favour, 26 against and 62 abstentions. MEPs call for the strategy to include tougher measures to combat paedophilia on the internet as well as steps to counter child sex tourism and enable suppliers of products manufactured with child labour to be prosecuted in Europe. The own-initiative report, drafted for the Civil Liberties Committee by Roberta Angelilli (UEN, IT), is Parliament's response to a Commission communication of 4 July 2006 titled "Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child". The report restates Parliament's opposition to all forms of violence against children and calls for a specific budget heading for their rights, with which to fund work required by the strategy. Among the European Parliament's many proposals, MEPs call for technical measures to combat the dissemination of paedophile content via the internet. They would also like to involve access suppliers, search engines and even banks, so as to block payment by would-be purchasers of illegal content. In addition, the House wishes to protect children by tightening up rules on the transmission of harmful content via the internet or multimedia messaging services and the sale of violent video games. It would like a uniform classification and labelling system to be created for such games, and for all audiovisual content. Children should be better informed of their rights via a dedicated internet site to be set up for this purpose, argues the European Parliament. The House recommends setting up a European early warning system on child abductions and supports the Commission's plan to introduce a telephone help-line for children. It also urges the creation of a European strategy, and a single EU-wide set of extraterritorial criminal laws, to counter child sex tourism.

Labels: Child_abuse_images, Protection_of_minors

EU - Romania to protest cartoon featuring with "suicidal squirrels" to the European Commission

(Associated Press)
A darkly humorous cartoon showing squirrels hanging themselves and throwing themselves in front of cars has drawn the ire of Romanian broadcasting authorities. But Romanian authorities have no control over the cartoon, because it is broadcast on a channel with a British license. The Romanian regulatory body for television broadcasting said it would make an official protest to the European Commission about the one-minute cartoon shown every afternoon on the British-licensed channel AXN.

Labels: Audiovisual, Protection_of_minors

Social networking sites must do more to protect child users

(E-consultancy.com)
Three of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet are not doing enough to protect their child users, an independent expert audit has concluded. The investigation by web usability consultants at User Vision, one of Europe?s leading independent user experience companies, found that Facebook, Bebo and MySpace all lacked targeted, clear information about online security for under 18s.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

DE - Merkel startet "Netz für Kinder"

(Heise)
Mit dem Portal fragFINN.de ist der erste geschützte Internet-Bereich für Kinder in Deutschland gestartet. Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) schaltete am Donnerstag in Berlin die Webseite frei, die Zugang zu ausschließlich kindergerechten Angeboten bieten soll. In das "Netz für Kinder" stellt eine Redaktion nur geprüfte Inhalte ein. fragFINN.de soll als Startseite im Webbrowser dienen. Mit einem Browser-Plugin kann zusätzlich der Zugang zu nicht von fragFINN.de genehmigten Seiten verhindert werden; das Plugin steht bislang nur für den Internet-Explorer zur Verfügung, eine Firefox-Version soll in Kürze folgen.

Labels: Digital_content, Protection_of_minors

Games content 'concerns parents'

(BBC)
More than 75% of parents are concerned about the content of video games played by their children, a survey suggests. Almost half of the 4,000 parents surveyed in the UK, France, Italy and Germany said that one hour of gaming each day should be the limit. Some 43% of the surveyed parents said they were not aware of ratings systems for games to determine suitability. The survey comes as Dr Tanya Byron conducts a separate review of games and their impact on UK children.

Labels: Digital_content, Protection_of_minors, Statistics, Video_games

FR - Le Forum des droits sur l´internet énonce la règle du jeu vidéo en ligne

Le Forum des droits sur l´internet a publié sa Recommandation « Jeux vidéo en ligne : quelle gouvernance ? ». Cette 25e Recommandation constitue le premier rapport français qui étudie le phénomène du jeu vidéo en ligne dans ses diverses composantes : sociologique, économique et juridique. Il traite de toutes les formes de jeux qui existent en ligne (jeux en ligne massivement multijoueur, jeux occasionnels et consoles de jeu connectées à internet), à l´exception des jeux d´argent.

Labels: Content_Regulation, Protection_of_minors

EU - Member States implement EU legislation to combat the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography

(RAPID)
The European Commission has approved the report on the implementation by Member States of the Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA of 22 December 2003 on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. This report finds that most Member States have criminalised sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and child pornography on the Internet, But Member States can still do more. See also REPORT from the Commission on the implementation of the COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DECISION on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

Labels: Child_abuse_images, Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

Electronic Media, Violence, and Adolescents: An Emerging Public Health Problem

(Journal of Adolescent Health)
Adolescents' access to and use of new media technology (e.g., cell phone, personal data assistant, computer for Internet access) are on the rise, and this explosion of technology brings with it potential benefits and risks. Attention is growing about the risk of adolescents to become victims of aggression perpetrated by peers with new technology. In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a panel of experts in technology and youth aggression to examine this specific risk. This special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health presents the data and recommendations for future directions discussed at the meeting. The articles in the Journal support the argument that electronic aggression is an emerging public health problem in need of additional prevalence and etiological research to support the development and evaluation of effective prevention programs.

Labels: Cyber-bullying, Protection_of_minors

Mobile porn to hit $3.5bn by 2010

(vnunet.com)
Revenues from mobile 'adult services' are set to approach $3.5bn by 2010, according to a new report. Juniper Research said that growth will be fuelled by increasing adoption of streamed video and video chat, and a sharp rise in the adoption of 3G services.

Labels: Mobile_and_wireless, Protection_of_minors

UK - Young warned over social websites

(BBC)
Millions of young people could damage their future careers with the details about themselves they post on social networking websites, a watchdog warns. The Information Commissioner's Office found more than half of those asked made most of their information public.

Labels: Data_protection_privacy, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

IGF - UN Internet forum focuses on fighting sex predators

(AFP)
The second UN forum on governance of the Internet has closed with participants agreeing on the need to protect children from sexual predators using the web to lure victims. See also Brazil Net Forum Takes on Cybercrime(AP) and Net forum tackles cybercrime boom (BBC).

Labels: Information_society_and_Internet_policy, Protection_of_minors

JP - Japanese Poll: 87% Accept Manga Child Porn Regulation

(Anime News Network)
The Japanese government's Cabinet Office issued the results of its Special Opinion Poll on Harmful Materials, in which 86.5% of those who responded said that manga and art should be subject to regulation for child pornography, if they had to decide. 90.9% said that "harmful materials" on the Internet should be regulated, if they had to decide. The current child pornography laws in Japan do not regulate manga and art that depict children who are not real, or "virtual child pornography."

Labels: Computer_crime, Content_Regulation, Protection_of_minors

CoE - 23 States sign Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

(CoE)
Twenty-three Council of Europe member states signed the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS n° 201), which represents a major step in the prevention of sexual offences against children, the prosecution of perpetrators and the protection of victims. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey signed the convention at the beginning of the 28th Conference of the European Ministers of Justice in Lanzarote. The convention will enter into force once it has been ratified by five states. The convention also criminalises the use of the new technologies ? the internet in particular ? to sexually harm or abuse children, for example by "grooming", an increasingly worrying phenomenon of children being sexually harmed after meeting adults they have previously encountered in internet chat rooms or game sites.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors, Video_games

DE - Court approves ban on link portal

(Heise)
According to the State Media Agency of Lower Saxony (NLM) the Administrative Court in Lüneburg has imposed an order to cease and desist to stop an internet provider from hosting a web page containing about 1400 links, some of them leading to pornographic web sites. According to the NLM, minors are able to access these pornographic offers because no appropriate age verification system is in place.

Labels: Content_Regulation, Protection_of_minors

US - Facebook to Strengthen Child Warnings

(New York Times)
Facebook, the popular social networking Web site, will strengthen warnings about child safety on its site and said that it would take steps to improve its process of responding to complaints about sexual or inappropriate content. The company agreed to make the changes as part of a settlement with the New York State attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who began an investigation last month into whether the Web site was misleading its users by promoting itself as a place where high school students and younger children are safe from adult sexual predators. The settlement did not include a financial penalty, but Mr. Cuomo said it would serve as a "new model" for other sites to follow. See also Facebook made basic error with poor user safeguards, says lawyer (OUT-LAW).

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - Games violence study is launched

(BBC)
The government is asking for evidence for a new study of the effect of violent computer games on children. Psychologist Tanya Byron will head the study, which will also examine how to protect children from online material.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Video_games

US / UK - IWF intelligence leads to rescue and arrest

(Press Realse)
IWF intelligence lead to rescue of three prepubescent children being sexually abused and their abuser being sentenced to 60 years in prison. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) provided intelligence to Cybertipline, its sister Hotline in the US, regarding a website which appeared to be hosted in the US and contained images of children being sexually abused.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

AU - Vodafone to block kids from chatrooms

(Australian)
Vodafone Australia will lock children out of its mobile phone chatrooms from early next year in an effort to protect them from sexual predators. The mobile phone carrier has been monitoring its mobile chatrooms to protect children from online predators since late 2004, but it was no longer economically sustainable for the carrier to continue providing the service. The carrier said the chatrooms would be made available only to adults when the company launches its new adult verification system, Parental Lock, which is scheduled to be included on all Vodafone mobile handsets from March next year.

Labels: Mobile_and_wireless, Protection_of_minors

US - Facebook targeted over child safety

(Times)
Facebook, the social networking site, has been accused of not keeping young users safe from sexual predators after an investigation revealed apparent defects in its safety controls. The New York State attorney general has subpoenaed Facebook asking it to explain its security policy following an an undercover investigation in which authorities posing as teenagers received sexual advances within days of setting up profiles on the site. When contacted about the message, Facebook said it would remove any post that violated its rules but a month later had still not taken any action.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

AU - Task force to investigate safety of Facebook, MySpace

(ABC)
The Federal Government has announced a new working group which will investigate the safety of social networking sites and the danger they pose to Australian children. The task force will look at sites like MySpace and Facebook and see how paedophiles can infiltrate them and use the internet to get closer to young people. The Social Network Consultative Group is part of the Government's $189 million NetAlert program.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

CZ - Czech Bill On Child Porn Faces Resistance

(Washington Post)
When Austrian authorities announced that they had uncovered an online child pornography ring, pedophiles around the world suddenly became potential targets of criminal investigations - but not the ring's 63 customers in the Czech Republic, where downloading and possessing such images is not a crime. Creating and selling child pornography is illegal in the Czech Republic. But the law does not extend to people who obtain it. Despite repeated calls for legislation in the nearly 20 years since communism's demise, this country of 10.2 million people remains the most prominent haven for consumers of child pornography in the 27-member European Union. Slovenia, a tiny Balkan nation of 2 million people, is the only other E.U. country not to have outlawed possession of the material, according to an Interpol Web site that summarizes national laws.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

EU - Children and Media: Growing up in a digitalised world.

(EPP-ED) w
The Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood organised today in the EP in Strasbourg, under the presidency of MEPs Ruth Hieronymi and Maria Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, met with the Audiovisual Policy Intergroup in order to exchange views on the influence of media on the lives and development of children. The meeting, which focused on the topic 'Children and Media: growing up in a digitalised world', gathered representatives of the European Commission, Parliamentarians, industry, and NGOs.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

UK - Brown widens review of impact media violence has on children

(Guardian)
The impact of media violence on children will be the focus of a wider than expected government review. It may lead to new voluntary controls over excessive violence and sex on children's television and the internet and in video games. Gordon Brown stressed that he did not see the review leading to state censorship, but hoped it would lead to a common agreement between parents, programme makers and internet providers that new controls are necessary. Speaking at his monthly press conference in Downing Street, Mr Brown said parents were right to expect the government to do everything in its power to protect children from harmful material in a multimedia age. The review is to be conducted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Video_games

UK - 'Happy slapping' vids prompt Brown to push net filters

(Register)
The availability of gore and violence on the internet has prompted the UK Government to consider backing a campaign to encourage wider awareness and use of net-filtering software. Gordon Brown has ordered ministers to work with ISPs and media watchdog Ofcom to devise a strategy to regulate access to smut and violence online. Early ideas include plans to educate parents about the use of net-filtering software (aka censorware). Ofcom has been asked to develop a kite-mark scheme to certify net-filtering products. There will also be a review on whether new rules are needed about the marketing of some products to youngsters.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

US - AT&T offers parental control service

(Associated Press)
It may be something of a teenage nightmare: limits on when a wireless phone can make and receive calls and to whom, restrictions on text messages and talk time, and set allowances for ring tones and other downloads - all at a parent's fingertips. AT&T will launch a service giving parents that kind of wide-ranging control on almost all of its 63.7 million subscriber lines.

Labels: Mobile_and_wireless, Protection_of_minors

US - Call For Better Age-Verification Methods

(BetaNews)
Attorneys General across the country banded together, calling on social networking sites to strengthen parental controls to keep minors from accessing questionable material on their sites. The efforts are being headed by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who worked previously to get MySpace to disclose the identities of sex offenders on its Web site, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. While both are working to have the companies voluntarily change their policies, they are also pushing for actual laws.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Rating_and_filtering, Social_networking

EU - MEPs 'want EU sex offender list'

(BBC)
Members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly want to see an EU-wide register of sex offenders established, a survey suggests. A poll commissioned by the campaign to find missing Madeleine McCann found that 97% of MEPs backed the measure. Pollsters contacted 105 MEPs they judged to be representative of all the major EU member states and political groups in the European Parliament. As well as nearly all MEPs contacted agreeing with the creation of an EU-wide sex offenders register, the survey found that 95% wanted police to treat serious crimes involving children identically across Europe. Almost nine out of 10 MEPs who were canvassed supported introducing a common EU child abduction policy.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

AU - Protecting Australian Families Online

(DCITA)
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Address to Australian Personal Computer Awards Night, Sydney, Wednesday 21 March 2007

Labels: Protection_of_minors

AU - Howard on internet porn crusade

(Australin IT)
John Howard is going to spend $189 million on "cleaning up the internet" for Australian families, blocking pornography, upgrading the search for chat-room sex predators and cutting off terror sites. Every Australian family will be provided with a free internet filter and the federal Government will enter an unprecedented partnership with service providers to filter pornography at the source. Communications and Australian Federal Police resources will be boosted immediately to expand checks on internet chat rooms to detect child predators, and privacy laws masking sex offenders on the net will be altered.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

US legislation looks at web filtering

(vnunet.com)
The US has passed child safety legislation that could widen the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) powers to include the internet, according to constitutional campaigners.The Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007 (S.602) was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee and requires the FCC to do a study of internet filtering technologies. The research will include the 'existence and availability' of filtering technologies for audio and video content transmitted over 'wired, wireless, and internet' platforms, as well as other devices.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Rating_and_filtering

US - Democrats to push new Net sex-predator laws

(CNET News.com)
Expect a new push in Congress this fall for laws aimed at keeping sexual predators off the likes of MySpace.com and elevating fines on Internet service providers that don't report child pornography.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

MySpace deletes 29,000 sex offenders

(Reuters)
Popular Internet social network MySpace has detected and deleted 29,000 convicted sex offenders on its service, more than four times the figure it had initially reported. The company, owned by media conglomerate News Corp., said in May it had deleted about 7,000 user profiles that belonged to convicted offenders. MySpace attracts about 60 million unique visitors monthly in the United States.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

US - Social Sites Aim at Users Too Young for MySpace

(Washington Post)
Disney has announced the acquisition of Club Penguin, a virtual world for children that's been around less than two years but has grown to 12 million registered users, largely without marketing. Disney executives said the deal, valued at as much as $700 million depending on the company's performance, won't result in changes to the Club Penguin site, which requires parental permission for membership and doesn't have advertising. But the deal has prompted child advocates to ask whether kids are helped or harmed by exposure to the Web. There are a growing number of sites that claim to offer entertainment and education for children. Disney said it wants to invest in sites where parents can be assured of their children's safety against adult content and contact from strangers.

Labels: Internet_access_and_use, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

US - New Scrutiny for Facebook Over Predators

(New York Times)
Facebook, the online social network, has stolen some of MySpace's momentum with users and the news media. Now, it is being subjected to the same accusations that it does not do enough to keep sexual predators off its site. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, said that investigators in his state were looking into "three or more" cases of convicted sex offenders who had registered on Facebook and had "also found inappropriate images and content" on the service. The inquiry continues, he said, and state officials have contacted Facebook and asked it to remove the profiles.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

CoE- A new Council of Europe Convention to protect children against sexual exploitation and abuse

(Press Release)
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which represents a major advance in this field. This new Convention is the first instrument to establish the various forms of sexual abuse of children as criminal offences, including such abuse committed in the home or family, with the use of force, coercion or threats. In addition to the offences traditionally committed in this field - sexual abuse, child prostitution, child pornography, children's forced participation in pornographic performances - the text also addresses the issue of "grooming" of children for sexual purposes and "sex tourism". The Convention will be opened for signature at the Conference of European Ministers of Justice in Lanzarote on 25 and 26 October this year. See The full text of the Convention and the explanatory report

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

UK - Fast food brands hit kids online

(BBC)
Fast food brands are getting around laws banning the promotion of unhealthy snacks online, research suggests. New Advertising Standards Association rules prevent the online and offline advertising of fast food to children. But, according to trade magazine New Media Age, fast food brands are targeting kids via games, videos and cartoons on their websites. It accuses brands such as McDonalds, Kinder and Haribo of exploiting a legal loophole in the rules.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Video_games

US - Cyber-bullying gathers pace

(BBC)
One third of US online teenagers have been victims of cyber-bullying according to research by the Pew Internet Project. The most common complaint from teens was about private information being shared rather than direct threats. Girls were more likely than boys to be targets and teens who share their identities online are the most vulnerable, the survey found.

Labels: Cyber-bullying, Protection_of_minors

The MySpace Dilemma: Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

(InformationWeek)
The anonymity and anything-goes nature of the Internet is a lure for sexual predators. We need to reconcile this with our children's growing passion for online social networking. see also Building a Safer MySpace (Business Week) January 24, 2007.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

UK - Warning over 'bullying by mobile'

(BBC)
One in five young people has been bullied by mobile phone or via the internet, a study suggests. Children's charity NCH surveyed 770 youngsters and found 14% of 11- to 19-year-olds had been threatened or harassed using text messages. Bullies had used images taken with mobile phone cameras to intimidate or embarrass one in 10 young people.

Labels: Cyber-bullying, Protection_of_minors

CoE -Protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse

(Council of Europe)
The sixth meeting of the Committee of Experts on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse (PC-ES) took place at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, from 26 to 30 March 2007. The Committee adopted the draft Convention and its Explanatory Report. See Draft Convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and Draft explanatory report. See European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) 56th Plenary Session of 18-22 June 2007. See also Council of Europe programme for the promotion of children's rights and the protection of children from violence.

Labels: Computer_crime, Protection_of_minors

UK - New rules on paedophiles

(Economist)
When John Reid took over the job of home secretary in May 2006, it was in the wake of two damaging scandals involving sex offenders. Just a few weeks into his new job, he announced a review of the systems that are meant to protect children from unknown sex offenders.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

25 May 2007 - International Missing Children's Day- Commission steps up efforts to better protect children in EU

(RAPID)
For the third consecutive year, the European Commission is supporting the International Missing Children's Day on 25 May, organised by the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children of which the main purpose is to spread a message of hope and solidarity at the international level. To strengthen its actions in favour of children and young people, the Commission adopted a Communication "Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child" on 4 July 2006 which advocated the setting up of a 'European Forum for the Rights of the Child' as an instrument for promoting the effective exchange of information and good practices and establishing a network of stakeholders in this field. The first meeting of the Forum will be held on 4 June in Berlin. see also Context of Commission's work in area of protection of children rights.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

US - Mass deletion sparks LiveJournal revolt

(CNET News)
Thousands of LiveJournal customers are rebelling against the company's recent decision to censor hundreds of sex-themed discussion groups, a broad swath that has led to the removal of literary critiques and fan-written fiction about Harry Potter. LiveJournal deleted around 500 journals this week in hopes of better "protecting children."

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Self-regulation_Codes_of_Conduct

Web safety warning for children

(BBC)
More than half of children in the UK using the internet have had an "unwanted experience", a poll suggests. The NSPCC found 50.4% of 2,053 children had experienced problems such as bullying, being threatened or sexually harassed while online. It is concerned about the popularity of social networking sites such as Bebo or MySpace, which it says 52% of children aged 11-16 use once a day. The NSPCC says these could heighten children's exposure to abusive people.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

DE - "Ein Netz für Kinder"

(Heise)
Eine bis 1,5 Millionen Euro wollen der Bundesbeauftragte für Kultur und Medien, das Familienministerium und möglicherweise verschiedene Landesbehörden in die Förderung kindgerechter Angebote im Internet investieren. Zum Abschluss der EU-Konferenz "Mehr Vertrauen in Inhalte" verkündete Hans-Ernst Hanten, Gruppenleiter Medien, Film, Internationales im Hause des Kulturbeauftragten, für die Deutsche Ratspräsidentschaft auch, dass man eine Reihe von Unternehmen für die Umsetzung einer Positivliste mit kindgerechten Inhalten gewonnen habe.

Labels: Protection_of_minors

Paedophiles use Skype 'loophole?' to woo children

(Sunday Times)
Internet chatrooms run by Skype, the online telephone giant, have become a magnet for paedophiles and sexual predators who want to groom children as young as 10 for sex, an investigation has found. The software, which enables users to make free phone calls and also "chat" by typing messages while online, has become the preferred method for many paedophiles to find their victims. Other internet chat facilities have strengthened their child protection measures or closed down entirely because of concerns over internet "grooming".

Labels: Protection_of_minors

The Marshal Of MySpace

(Business Week)
Just like the Real world, MySpace.com needs an enforcer. The man trying to bring order to the planet's biggest social networking site is a former federal prosecutor named Hemanshu 'Hemu' Nigam. He was hired a year ago to keep MySpace's largely youthful denizens safe from predatory grown-ups--and from one another. For MySpace owner, News Corp., patrolling the virtual streets is not simply a matter of keeping kids safe, it's also crucial if the company is to attract sufficient advertising to help boost profits.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Social_networking

CN - China seeks to 'limit game hours'

(BBC)
The Chinese government has clamped down on the amount of time youngsters can spend playing online games. Under-18s who play for more than three consecutive hours a day will have limits imposed on the amount of points they can score. Online game companies based in China have been given three months to install the so-called anti-addiction software.

Labels: Protection_of_minors, Video_games

US - Phone for tweens and kids

(Net Family News)
Kajeet is a new cellphone specifically aimed at 8-to-16-year-olds (but probably more appealing to, say, 8-to-11-year-olds). It has a "mature look and simple pricing," the Washington Post reports. "Parents can set monthly allowances" for minutes, ring tones, games, and text messaging on the $99 phone's "pay-as-you-go cellphone service" on the Sprint Nextel network. No contracts or cancellation fees. And there's a "wallets" option, so that calls to family members are covered by Mom, for example, but ring tones come out of the kid's wallet. As for kid phones, The Olympian describes popular brands like Wherify, Disney Phone, Firefly, and Tic Talk.

Labels: Mobile_and_wireless, Protection_of_minors, Video_games

Vodafone Content Standards

(Vodaphone)
Mobile phones offer a wide range of features including picture messaging, downloadable pictures and video clips, games and internet access. These technologies bring significant benefits to our business and personal lives, but can also raise concerns about misuse. We care about our customers and have developed tools to combat spam and enable parents to protect their children from inappropriate content, contact and commercialism. The implementation of our content standards varies between markets reflecting local cultures and specific areas of concern. see also Privacy.

Labels: Mobile_and_wireless, Protection_of_minors, Self-regulation_Codes_of_Conduct, Spam, Video_games