On the Internet and elsewhere: Technology puts you in control

Communication technologies and the Internet are an extremely important part of our daily routine.  Whether banking from your cell phone, buying books online from your home PC, or reading the newspaper from a Wi-Fi connection at the local coffee house, Americans have the ability to instantly arm themselves with information and access global connectivity.

However, with every new technology, there come individuals who discover ways to manipulate that technology to cause harm to others. The theft of identity, personal credit information, phone records and the problems of junk faxes and spyware are perfect examples.  As the Internet and communication devices have evolved, our children have been given more access to those technologies.  While in many ways this has made children safer, they are also more vulnerable to abuse these devices.

Because people are more aware of these dangers, our nation has now established June as “National Internet Safety Month.” Recently, I was fortunate to co-host the inaugural meeting of The National Task Force on children’s online safety in conjunction with The Creative Coalition. The purpose of this event was to unite policy makers and members of the creative community to discuss children’s online safety and help raise awareness of this critical issue.

Some of the statistics that highlight this safety threat are particularly sobering: One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web, 75 percent of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services, and approximately 25 percent of children who encountered a sexual approach or solicitation told a parent or adult.

With numbers like these, the most important question to ask is, What can we do and what is being done to reverse this alarming trend?
Thankfully, the private sector has also recognized the problem and is going to great lengths to provide parents with the tools necessary to protect children when they are online or using other communication technologies.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has its www.NetSmartz411.org Web site that answers questions parents may have about protecting their children online.  This site gives parents the ability to directly access the NetSmartz411 Library to get answers to their questions or contact NCMEC experts to ask specific questions related to children’s online safety.

Children’s online safety initiatives don’t end there.  As a collaborative effort to provide parents with tips and tools to protect their children online, the telecommunications, cable, and content communities have pooled their resources to develop “Project Online Safety.” This user-friendly program allows parents and caretakers to click on an Internet site logo to learn what can be done to protect their child from the threats posed by fraudulent Internet users. Additionally, if you are a subscriber to one of the companies on the site you can click on that company’s logo, learn about the relevant parental controls, and, in some cases, access technology to protect children.

It is nearly impossible to argue the great sense of security cell phones can give to a child or young adult, especially in times of emergency. However, with text messaging, cell phone Internet access and image download capability; the chance for children to view inappropriate material drastically increases.  In response to these concerns, the cell phone industry is providing parents with the tools to protect their children, by offering the option to restrict cell phone Internet access to inappropriate Web sites and minimizing or eliminating the option for children to purchase content with their cell phones.

Communications technologies are evolving at an incredibly fast pace. We in Congress must encourage tech companies to continue developing innovative solutions to protect our children.

The care and safety of our children is our most important role as parents and adults. That role means knowing where our children are at all times, being involved in our children’s activities, listening to our children, and teaching our children about the threats they face. There is no substitute for parental attention and supervision, and we must not look solely to government to fill that role. Partnering with parents, our government can and should encourage reasonable policies to help parents do their jobs and help keep America’s children safe.

Bono is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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