Interweb could send your kids bananas
Byron Review analysis Pull your socks up
THE UK GOVERNMENT has given the Internet industry its report card for child protection. It reads: good effort, but pull your socks up.
The industry has made some generally compliant compliments about the UK's Byron review into children and the dangers of new media since its publication yesterday. But it hasn't been so accommodating that has agreed to the extensive and specific recommendations of the review.
Specifically, web sites such as Youtube, which host user-generated content, have been told that they should employ third parties to scan for illegal or harmful content. Website owners should commit to take dodgy content down within a set time period. Internet advertisers should stop pitching immoral adverts at kids.
Interestingly, Byron said that Internet advertising could harm children's psychological development.
"The ability to critically evaluate commercial material correlates to the development of the frontal lobes, and therefore it is important that children are not exposed to commercial messages that they do not understand," she said in the report.
She had been alarmed by the sheer volume of inappropriate adverts that were served up on sites frequented by children. This included not just ads for pr0n, but violent ads for films, for dating sites and for fast food. It also recommended that Website owners should target charity ads at children who surf for material about "harmful behaviours", which might include things like drug use and suicide.
Search engines should make also parental filters prominent and lockable on specific machines, it said. While PC manufacturers should put parental filters on every machine sold in the UK. And Social networking sites should adopt a code of practice.
Wriggle room
There may not be any sound arguments for these measures not to be taken,
particularly as Byron has sidestepped the freedom of expression issue by saying
that she is concerned only with the few Websites that handle the majority of
Internet traffic.
The industry's cursory support for Byron's recommendations has left it some wriggle-room, despite their being presented as part of such a comprehensive review. Google, for example, "applauded" Byron's work, said how it was "deeply committed" to protecting kids online, and mentioned some of the things it had already done, like making a safe search tool available. But it would not commit to Byron's specific recommendations.
A spokesman said it could only commit to looking at them. They will be looked at in the UK Council on Child Internet Safety, in which industry, government, parents and others will try and bring Byron's recommendations into self-regulatory practice.
Meantime, the industry has to commit to nothing. The difficulties the council might face are illustrated by Byron's analysis of attempts by Webcos to prevent users loading illegal and harmful content onto their sites by users.
Some site owners had told Byron that they were wary about taking steps to remove harmful or inappropriate content because they were worried about being made legally liable for it. They are made liable in law for content they know about. So if they don't bother to check, they won't get done for anything they miss.
Companies that used software to scan for such content might even be made liable for anything they had missed. Such matters had yet to be decided by the courts. Nevertheless, said Byron, for companies to say they couldn't balance the risks of liability against the risks to children was "a bit like saying that it is unfair to ask companies to survey their premises for asbestos in case they find some but fail to remove it safely".
"Child safety is everyone’s responsibility and I believe that on this issue companies should not hide behind the law," she said, recommending that the matter be taken up by the Council. µ
Comments
Dr. Byron needs to get out more...
My children were essentially raised with the internet, having been brought into the world by a father who's been an active participant in the medium for 21 years.No netnanny software exists on our home lan. Just a father who "gets it", has frank discussions with his children, and then learns to trust them. Do you want to know what your children are doing? The solution is easy. Just freakin KNOW. If you're a parent and you don't know, shame on you. PERIOD. Even the things that can happen, that aren't necessarily your fault when raising your children are still your RESPONSIBILITY.
Putting all of the "what does this mean"'s into a context for your children IS A PARENTS JOB. Hiding things that exist in the world.....Exactly who does that sort of ignorance serve? Does it make you feel better to think you'll tell "Little Johnny" when he's older? Is that the logic? Or are you simply afraid of being a parent? It isn't an easy job, but few worthwhile endeavors are easy.
The net is not some microcosm of twisted evil that has magically reared it's ugly head in the modern era. It is actually little more than a cleverly focused lens that brings the realities of the world in sharper focus.
Philosophical ideologues like Dr. Byron make solid arguments, and her evaluation seems to be one of the more balanced I've read, but much of it is being taken out of context too, by those with political agenda's grounded in fear, wistful desires for some fantasy "past" that was "better and safer".Being sold on this way of thinking is being sold on myths.
If you can tell me of some arcane past that was substantively better than today, I'd be happy to take apart that past and show you how banal and cruel much of it was.
I'm all for protecting our children, and indeed I consider my daughters fate something I'd willingly lay down my life for. But I'm also for honesty. And that honesty demands that I refrain from shoveling societies fears (and even some of my own fears when they are clearly irrational) on their shoulders. I'd rather just tell them the truth about the real world. YES, even the ugly parts. How else are they going to know??
I'm raising well adjusted, intelligent, aware, and most importantly SELF AWARE children. If they happen across a stray nipple in a banner ad, or an ad for some violent video game, or some creep trying to IM them I am not worried. I've taken the time to explain all the contexts and ramifications of living in today's world.
Have you? Or have you instead installed software to babysit the children you're not raising? Maybe written your congressman or minister to have them "do something about it"? When has a politician ever done anything that actually worked? And besides, are they the governments children? Or yours?
Take some responsibility, and at the same time relax. Your kids get most of this stuff already. You're the one slow to realize this is all.
what!!
I think that the industry should only take measures when it comes to public safety! but when it comes to kids parents should monitor what they do on the Internet... I do so why can't all parents?Parents
I think that the UK government should leave parenting up to parents, but it looks like the UK government think they can do a better job. Im sure they could do a better job in some cases.