International: Finding the best and avoiding the worst
Today, kids can walk around with the Internet in their pockets. The video iPod, the Sony Playstation Portable, mobile phones and PDAs can all access digital content unimaginable even during the dot com bubble. We face an unprecedented challenge to protect children from the worst of the web while directing them to the best, most trusted, quality digital content, no matter what device that content is delivered on.
We at ICRA, the Internet Content Rating Association, believe it is possible to both protect the rights of content providers to express themselves, without the need for censorship, while providing parents, teachers and other concerned adults the tools to protect children from potentially harmful or offensive material. We do this through an expertly created, content description system that allows web creators to self-label their content with a machine-readable tag or meta-data. This tag is then read by parental control filters and if the content is filtered out if it exceeds what the parents want their child to see.
Content labelling and filtering is only one part of the solution. Because the world of digital content is so vast and growing at an exponetial rate, we need a range of technical solutions that include artificial intelligence, URL block lists, word and image screening to piece together a comprehensive method to block unwanted material. We need a multitude of safety messages geared specifically for parents, for children, for teachers and for employers. And gonvernments have a legitimate role in ensuring existing laws impact on this new world without impeding the growth and innovation that has brought us such enormous benefits.
I know as a father how difficult it can be to keep up with my daughter's interest and curiousity on the web; encourgaging her to seek out and find text, photos and video for her homework projects or just for fun. I also know how just a simple slip of the keyboard or an innocent online search can take her off into areas I would never allow her to go in the "real" world. I have to find the right balance of caution and warnings while allowing her a growing freedom to reach out and discover for herself.
That's the challenge: to find the balance between fear of harm and the joy of tapping into the world's richest source of information, amusement and fun. It is an unprecedented undertaking - to find a way for governments, industry players and NGOs to work internationally to allow this new medium the room to grow, while finding the right touch of government oversight, industry self-regulation and parental involvement. Watch this space...
Comments
Our society is exposed to a growing phenomenon of insecurity and lack of moral values, where the unrestricted access to child pornographic or pseudo-pornographic material in Internet during this last decade, has posed additional challenges to the problem. Child pornography, sexual tourism and minor’s abuse have become a genuine preoccupation. There are thousands of websites offering child pornographic or pseudo-pornographic material and all types of minors´ sexual services, which indicate a clear need of a thorough and complete analysis of the problem and a political appeal in search of solutions.
There are many issues to be taken care of, as apart from the application of new laws all over the world (there is no Argentine legislation), there are still very few specialists on technical investigation of this type of crime.
Consequently, it is necessary to join efforts to collaborate with global action against minor’s abuse, improving legislation, expanding knowledge and resources, improving communication among officials drafting policies and those who are in charge of applying the law.
If we work together as defenders and professionals (with political willingness), we will be able to improve our capacity of protecting victims and act against those who take advantage of children. To acquire this goal, it will be necessary to:
• Develop police structures dedicated to the obtention of proof to inform on the methodology and people responsible for the crimes, understanding the challenge of recognizing the failures of the present hierarquicaly conventional national police structures.
• Facilitate operating cooperation among security forces (national and international) and the non governmental organizations (ONG).
• Facilitating the cooperation for the legislative harmonization and that of the procedures of the legal structure at international level.
Congratulations for a job well done!!!
Bernie Lajmanovich
ASIBA
Information Security Asociation from Buenos Aires Argentina
Posted by: Bernie Lajmanovich | February 8, 2006 07:05 PM
But I'm not sure you'll get anywhere by only allowing comments from those who toe the party line, as you're obviously doing.
Posted by: Al | February 8, 2006 08:54 PM
Everyday, around the world, new websites are created, others get closed. The wonderful thing about the world of the internet is that is it always changing. Every second there is something new. It's vast, and never ending.
Good luck protecting your children against that. This medium represents many dangers for children but it is a danger that can only be avoided and protected from by observing your child very closely.
Rules against chatrooms, a time limit on the computer or good wholesome chats, are things you can do to avoid losing your child to this world. Labeling ever single website ever created will never solve this problem.
Posted by: Mimi | February 9, 2006 11:09 PM
clidren are stupid now a days. they don't know anything about the things they use online. And the parents are not better, they know even less. First of all kids need to understand that anything can be used against them on the internet, and also cyber bullies can't hurt you online, haven't you heard the phrase " sticks and stone will break my bones but names will never hurt me". The only thing i agree with in this blog is the fact that children under 12 should NOT blog and use chat rooms. Especially if your parents don't know what you're doing.
Posted by: superstarr | February 10, 2006 04:07 AM
Al,
I'm interested to know what your thoughts are on this topic.
Betina
Posted by: betina | February 10, 2006 03:38 PM