[OPLINLIST] FYI: Filtering, Child Safety on the Internet

Wed Feb 7 13:06:15 EST 2007

For those following these issues.

Major Technology and Media Organizations, Non-Profits Launch Project Online
Safety 

<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-0
7-2007/0004522540&EDATE>
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-07
-2007/0004522540&EDATE=

  Educational Campaign to Promote Internet Safety via Online Portal, PSAs

    --? -- Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A broad array of technology
companies, media organizations, trade associations and nonprofits announced
today their collaboration in launching Project Online Safety, an
educational campaign focused on promoting Internet safety for children. The
initiative provides parents and children with a centralized online resource
of Internet safety tools and educational materials at
 <http://www.projectonlinesafety.com/> http://www.ProjectOnlineSafety.com,
and supports and encourages the
broadcast of a series of related national public service advertisements
(PSAs) being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Ad Council.
    Project Online Safety is part of an ongoing, industry-wide effort
working with leading advocacy organizations to educate parents and children
about the importance of online safety. The partners of the initiative that
are investing resources to support online safety programs are AT&T,
BlogSafety.com, Cable in the Classroom (CIC), Charter Communications,
Comcast, Cox Communications, Facebook, Fox Interactive Media (MySpace),
Internet Education Foundation, National Cable & Telecommunications
Association (NCTA), Network Solutions, News Corp., Qwest Communications,
Time Warner Cable and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC).
    This educational campaign addresses concerns regarding abuse of the
Internet to victimize children online. Many companies are currently taking
important measures to reduce the potential threats posed by Internet
predators and to prosecute individuals who utilize the Internet to prey
upon children. For example, companies participating in Project Online
Safety are conducting a variety of activities, including national traveling
education programs; conducting extensive law enforcement training sessions;
and designating specific online locations where parents, guardians and
children can learn how they can have safer and more rewarding experiences
on the Internet.
    Technology and media companies are also marshaling the experience and
resources of non-profit advocacy organizations in developing best practices
for online safety to further promote a safe online experience. At the
BlogSafety.com forum, for example, parents can share intelligence and learn
about successful strategies developed by other parents to support safe
blogging and social networking. Also, the Congressional Internet Caucus
Advisory Committee has aggregated information about the respective efforts
of various online and technology companies to help safeguard children while
online.
    Online Portal
    In conjunction with the initiative, a new online portal at
 <http://www.projectonlinesafety.com/> http://www.ProjectOnlineSafety.com
serves as a central repository where
parents, guardians, teachers and children can access numerous Internet
safety tools and educational materials, which are made available by the
participating companies and organizations. The site serves as a portal
through which users may access resources on specific topic areas of
interest, such as parental control technologies, ways to report trouble
online, cyberbullying, and safe web sites for children. In addition, users
can also click on a participating technology company or advocacy
organization web page to review their online safety materials and read more
about their efforts to help protect children's online experiences.
    By offering one point of access to the wealth of valuable information
about Internet safety, ProjectOnlineSafety.com can more effectively educate
parents and children about the importance of online safety and empower
children to have safer experiences online.
    PSAs on Internet Safety
    In conjunction with this initiative, the partners will devote resources
toward distributing and encouraging the broadcast of PSAs on Internet
safety. The PSAs, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, NCMEC, and
the Ad Council, are designed to educate parents and guardians about
measures they can take to better protect their children online, and to
instruct teens on how to be smart and maintain safe online relationships in
order to reduce risks of sexual exploitation and abduction.
    The PSAs direct parents, guardians, and teens to visit
 <http://www.cybertipline.com/> http://www.cybertipline.com to learn about
safe and responsible use of the
Internet, as well as how to report threats. Administered by NCMEC, the
CyberTipline is a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation.
Reports can be made on the website or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST
(1-800-843-5678). The PSAs will run on cable, broadcast and Internet
properties, including being accessible through links on the web sites of
participating companies and organizations.
    A third series of these PSAs will be released and will run this spring.
This series will continue to engage teenage Internet users with the message
of protecting themselves online by not posting images or information that
might put them at risk. The PSAs were created pro bono by advertising
agency Merkley + Partners.
    Other organizations interested in participating in the Project Online
Safety initiative should contact Danielle Yates, Internet Education
Foundation at 202.638.4370 or  <mailto:dyates at neted.org> dyates at neted.org.
                  MAJOR TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS,
                   NON-PROFITS LAUNCH PROJECT ONLINE SAFETY

  Following are quotes provided by executives representing the companies and
        organizations that are participating in Project Online Safety.

    AT&T
    "AT&T, as the nation's leading broadband provider, has a long-standing
commitment to protecting children online and safeguarding their Internet
experience," said Dorothy Attwood, senior vice president of regulatory
planning and policy for AT&T. "As the Internet is impacted by a wide
variety of stakeholders, industry initiatives -- such as Project Online
Safety -- are a critical component of these efforts as they provide
additional opportunities to raise awareness of how to create a safer online
environment for children."
    BLOGSAFETY.COM
    "BlogSafety.com is basically social networking for parents concerned
about social networking, and we're delighted to be the interactive part of
this convenient, one-stop spot on the Web for the best online-safety
information," said Anne Collier, co-director of BlogSafety.com. "We welcome
the questions, comments, and stories of everyone interested in the social
Web."
    CABLE IN THE CLASSROOM (CIC)
    "Cable in the Classroom, the national education foundation of the cable
industry, is committed to providing educators and parents with the
information, skills and knowledge they need to ensure that children and
youth use the Internet safely and responsibly," said Helen Soule, Ph.D.,
Executive Director, Cable in the Classroom. "Working with and on behalf of
cable companies and programming networks, CIC is pleased to extend its
decade long advocacy for media literacy education through this important
initiative."
    CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS
    "Charter is proud to join this industry-wide effort to help make online
safety information available to our nation's youth," said Jay Carlson,
senior vice president of information technology for Charter Communications.
"With the provision of powerful communication tools comes responsibility,
and Charter takes the responsibility of raising awareness and education
very seriously."
    COMCAST
    "As the leading high-speed Internet service provider, we are continuing
to provide a superior Internet experience, and that includes providing
tools and information to make that experience safe," said David L. Cohen,
executive vice president, Comcast. "We're especially pleased to be working
with our long-time partners at the Ad Council, our good friends at NCMEC,
and other leading organizations on this important broad-based initiative."
    COX COMMUNICATIONS
    "Cox offers free parental control software to all of our high-speed
Internet customers, but we don't stop there. Cox continues to dedicate
major resources to educating parents and children about Internet safety
through our partnership with the NCMEC and our Take Charge! program," said
Ellen East, vice president of communications and public affairs for Cox
Communications. "As part of this effort, Cox will continue airing parent
and child targeted PSAs from NCMEC. To date, Cox has aired NCMEC's PSAs
more than 735,000 times, representing ad value of $18.5 million."
    FACEBOOK
    "Facebook has invested heavily in building technology that creates a
safe and trusted online environment for our millions of users. The site's
segmented network architecture and extensive privacy tools give users the
control to share information with only the people they want to see it,"
said Chris Kelly, chief privacy officer, Facebook. "We are proud to be
among the technology companies joining this initiative in an effort to
further education about online safety."
    QWEST COMMUNICATIONS
    "As a preferred provider of high-speed Internet service for millions of
consumers, Qwest is a also a leading steward of the technology through our
online safety education program, located at IncredibleInternet.com," said
Paula Kruger, Qwest executive vice president of mass markets group and
leader of the Qwest Online Safety Program. "We are pleased to work with
members of Project Online Safety to promote new resources that contribute
to this cause."
    NATIONAL CABLE & TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION (NCTA)
    "Just as we've worked for many years to help families manage the flow
of video programming into their homes, cable is committed to helping our
millions of high-speed Internet customers enjoy a safe and quality online
experience," said Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO, NCTA. "We're proud to
be affiliated with this effort to provide families with tools to increase
Internet literacy and provide a safe Internet environment for children."
    NEWS CORPORATION
    "News Corp is committed to making the Internet as safe as possible,"
said Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer, Fox Interactive Media. "We
have been leveraging the full power of News Corp's broad distribution
channels to promote online safety and we're delighted to be working with so
many responsible media organizations on this important awareness
initiative."
    NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN
    "The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is pleased to be
a partner in Project Online Safety," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of
NCMEC. "By offering one point of access to our collective Internet safety
resources, we can more effectively equip parents and their children with
the tools they need to have safer experiences online."
    TIME WARNER CABLE
    "Time Warner Cable joins this industry-wide initiative as a perfect
complement to earlier efforts we have already undertaken in the area of
educating parents and children about online safety," said Lynn Yaeger,
executive vice president for corporate affairs. "We provide free Parental
Control software to all Road Runner online customers, which allows parents
to customize websites their children can view and also allows parents to
view a list of all sites their kids have attempted to view. Time Warner
Cable has also partnered with Common Sense Media, which provides a host of
reviews, ratings and content information to help parents make informed
choices about websites and then use the Parent Control software to limit
access to any unsuitable content."

SOURCE Project Online Safety

  _____  