Teresa Collins

Teresa Collins

Can kids be safe online?

Long hours in cyberspace can bring harmful repercussions to children's privacy and safety. Due to the increasing use of email, webcams, text messaging and social networking sites, more and more of the nation's children are subject to online harassment in the form of cyber-bullying, blackmail, sexting and pornography.

"Seventy-three percent of American teens aged 12 to 17 now use social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, up from 55 percent two years ago," Jessica Rich, deputy director of the federal Bureau of Consumer Protection, an agency of the Federal Trade Commission, told a Senate committee hearing last week. "About one-third of all teens online have reported experiencing some kind of online harassment, including cyber-bullying."

According to Jeff McIntyre, director of National Policy for Children Now, kids spend an average of "over 7 ½ hours a day in non-academic media."

Michelle Collins, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, told the Senate panel, "Online enticement of children for sexual acts has increased 714% since 1998."

Titled "Protecting Youths in an Online World," the hearing was held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, the committee chairman, said, "People can take advantage of vulnerability at great profit" and without penalty.

"The Internet, for all its good -- and there really is so much good: rich resources, educational material, networking advances -- can also be fraught with violent and sexually explicit sites. Unfortunately, many parents do not know what their children do online, or cannot comprehend the magnitude of the risks they face," Rockefeller said.

"On social networking sites, young people may share personal details that leave them vulnerable to identity theft," Rich declared. "P2P file-sharing presents privacy and security risks because consumers may unknowingly allow others to copy private files they never intended to share."

McIntyre explained that, whereas parents can exert control over where a child is geographically, control becomes a much more difficult task in cyberspace.

Panelists and Senators struggled with ways to address and counter the growing dilemma.

"The Commission's online safety portal, OnGuardOnline.gov, developed in partnership with other federal agencies, provides practical information in a variety of formats - including articles, game, quizzes, and videos - to help people guard against Internet fraud, secure their computers, and protect their personal information," Rich said. "FTC staff has also assisted P2P file-sharing software developers in devising best practices to help prevent consumers from inadvertently sharing personal or sensitive data over P2P networks."

Hemanshu Nigam, founder of SSP Blue and co-chair of the Online Safety and Technology Working Group, said, "The Internet is a living thing that reflects at any given moment in time our humanity's lives, sociality, publications and productions," in which "users online are intertwined with and often responsible for their own safety."

"The industry can find parallel and sometimes exact solutions to online challenges in the real world," Nigam suggested. "Every online safety program must consist of technology, education, collaboration and enforcement designed to prevent unwanted content, contact and conduct. Thus, any industry online safety program must be holistic in nature."

Nigam also believed that companies have the responsibility to address this issue because their reputations are at stake.

"While the industry may be expert in technology, we must collaborate with experts in other sectors of child online safety," Hemanshu Nigam advised. "MySpace has formed relationships with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, iKeepSafe, Connect Safely, and Enough is Enough - some of the leading child advocacy organizations in the country. Working with NCMEC, MySpace sends AMBER Alerts to users when a child is kidnapped or missing. MySpace also works with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline when a user is in crisis to get them help immediately thereby preventing possible suicides."

"While media education is incredibly important, it should not be a loophole for structural attention to these issues," McIntyre said. "Real, demonstrated change must occur in the media environment for our children to be truly safe."

Collins said, "We agree that everyone has a role to play: parents and guardians can become more involved in their children's online activities; industry can actively self-regulate to keep its users safer; and the government can help increase awareness and encourage digital literacy."

K. Dane Snowden, of CITA-The Wireless Association, said there are tools available to offer children a safe cyberspace experience.

"Government policies can and should encourage stakeholders to help educate parents and children regarding safe, responsible mobile device practices that are already available," he said.

Young people who are affected on a daily basis have a different way of looking at the problem.

Teresa Wu, a student at the K-8 Computer School in New York City, said the abuses cannot be stopped unless the specific website has a policy.

"It's not in person so you can't solve it in person," Wu said. "Some people make fake accounts to stalk or talk hate to a person. People do that with Formspring."

Some kids seem like best friends when offline and outside, but backstab each other online under phony identities, she said.

"For MySpace, Facebook, and other public websites, your friends don't care about the inappropriate images you post on the web," Wu said, adding that many kids do it "because it's fun."

And if parents take away a child's Internet privileges, they can get access at the public library, she said.

About the Author

Yuan Li Ren is reporter of IBTimes.com