Fact Sheet 
Internet Filters:
Making Web Surfing Safer For Children
The internet,
initially the domain of adult users, has rapidly become a place
where people of all ages surf for fun and information. Children
increasingly have easy access to the internet through school, the
library, and home computers. The world of information is at a child's
fingertips for school projects, homework, interest areas, hobbies,
and play. Many children carve out their own space on the Web with
homepages they construct.
The Web has
responded to this with thousands of sites geared to children, from
teenagers to the youngest preschool computer user. Many educational
institutions, organizations, companies, and corporations have their
own kidpages or kidpages linked with information geared for parents
and other adults. Children can then experience what's happening
in the world in a whole new dimension with links to real people
and sites around the world. Some sites offer the opportunity to
visit with children from other countries, exchanging news, ideas,
pictures, and writings. Whole classrooms link up with classrooms
around the world.
The danger
for children on the World Wide Web comes with its openness. The
web is completely unregulated. Anyone can post information on the
Web and provide links to other pages. The danger for children lies
in four areas:
- Children
may link to a page with information, pictures or conversation
that the parent deems too sexual, violent, racist, or offensive.
- In chat rooms
the child may become a target of unwanted attention from adults,
older teens, or other children.
- Children
have become a target market on the net, with companies offering
prizes, games, etc. for family information.
- Some commercial
sites seemingly offering educational information or entertainment
are really deceptive advertising, selling products to children.
How can a
parent provide some cyber safety?
- By using
internet blocking or filtering software.
- By providing
education, talking to your child about safety on the World Wide
Web.
- Establishing
family rules about internet use.
- Making it
a rule that the child not give out family information without
the parent’s consent.
Internet filtering
comes in two categories:
- Software
that the parent can load onto the computer at home.
- Programs
that can be activated through the internet provider, which will
filter web sites for you.
The filtering
mechanism on these programs work by:
- Scanning
sites and blocking those that contain specific words.
- Blocking
sites that are found to contain sexually explicit, violent or
hateful material.
- Limiting
a child's search to a predefined set of sites or to sites that
meet certain criteria.
Limits of
internet filtering software (Consumer Reports, May, 1997):
- Children
who know a lot about computers can (sometimes easily) find ways
to by-pass or disable filtering devices.
- The filter
may block a site that is acceptable to the parent.
- None of the
devices are totally effective in blocking all objectionable sites.
The web is too big and changes too quickly.
- A blocking
program may not work with your online service provider. AOLTM,
ProdigyTM, and CompuServeTM all offer the
services of Cyber Patrol free to their online customers. Check
with your service provider before using another product.
- Some blocking
devices may disable your computer if they are tampered with. Make
sure you back-up your hard drive in case your child does not heed
the warning.
- Blockers
such as Internet Explorer, rely on sites using the industry's
voluntary ratings guide. Often, these are not effective because
not all adult sites use or post the ratings.
To help with
some of these difficulties, Consumer Reports urges that the
filter providers:
- Publish the
criteria for blocking sites.
- Give users
access to the list of blocked sites.
The bottom line,
however, is that no product will work 100% to keep your child from
accessing sites that you deem inappropriate. To help keep children
safe it is still best to monitor your child's internet use, and
discuss with your child how to safely use the net.
Some tips for
parents:
(These tips
for safeguarding your child's internet use are from the U.S.
Department of Education: Parents Guide to the Internet.)
Interacting
with Others on the Internet
Just as we
tell our children to be wary of strangers they meet, we need to
tell them to be wary of strangers on the Internet. Most people behave
reasonably and decently online, but some are rude, mean, or even
criminal. Teach your children that they should:
- Never give
out personal information (including their name, home address,
phone number, age, race, family income, school name or location,
or friends' names) or use a credit card online without your permission.
- Never share
their password, even with friends.
- Never arrange
a face-to-face meeting with someone they meet online unless you
approve of the meeting and go with them to a public place.
- Never respond
to messages that make them feel confused or uncomfortable. They
should ignore the sender, end the communication, and tell you
or another trusted adult right away.
- Never use
bad language or send mean messages online.
- Also, make
sure your children know that people they meet online are not always
who they say they are and that online information is not necessarily
private.
Limiting Children
to Appropriate Content on the Internet
Even without
trying, your children can come across materials on the Internet
that are obscene, pornographic, violent, hate-filled, racist, or
offensive in other ways. One type of material--child pornography--is
illegal. You should report it to the Center
for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1-800-THE LOST
(843-5678) or going to http://www.missingkids.org/. While other
offensive material is not illegal, there are steps you can take
to keep it away from your children and out of your home.
- Make sure
your children understand what you consider appropriate for them.
What kinds of sites are they welcome to visit? What areas are
off limits? How much time can they spend, and when? How much money,
if any, can they spend? Set out clear, reasonable rules
and consequences for breaking them.
- Make online
exploration a family activity. Put the computer in the living
room or family room. This arrangement involves everyone and helps
you monitor what your children are doing.
- Pay attention
to games your older child might download or copy. Some are violent
or contain sexual content.
- Look into
software or online services that filter out offensive materials
and sites. Options include stand alone software that can be installed
on your computer, and devices that label or filter content directly
on the web. In addition, many Internet Service Providers and commercial
online services offer site blocking, restrictions on incoming
email, and children's accounts that access specific services.
Often, these controls are available at no additional cost. Be
aware, however, children are often smart enough to get around
these restrictions. Nothing can replace your supervision and involvement.
Find out what
the Internet use policy is at your local library
Ask about the
Internet use policy at your child's school
Encouraging
Information Literacy:
- Show your
children how to use and evaluate information they find on the
Internet. Not all online information is reliable. Some individuals
and organizations are very careful about the accuracy of the information
they post, but others are not. Some even mislead on purpose. Remind
your children not to copy online information and claim it's their
own or copy software unless it is clearly labeled as free."
- "Help
children understand the nature of commercial information, advertising,
and marketing, including who created it and why it exists. Encourage
them to think about why something is provided and appears in a
specific way. Steer your children to noncommercial sites and other
places that don't sell products specifically to children. It is
important to be aware of the potential risks involved in going
online, but it is also important to keep them in perspective.
Common sense and clear guidelines are the place to start."
Sources
- Kids Online
Project. Outgrowth of the Internet Online Summit: Focus on Children
held in Washington D.C., December, 1997.
- National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children, (at http://www.missingkids.com)
Child safety on the information highway.
- Consumer
Reports. June,1997 and September,1997.
Last
revised: 2/4/00
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