{"id":1621,"date":"2010-02-09T12:26:32","date_gmt":"2010-02-09T12:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1621"},"modified":"2014-11-24T09:47:16","modified_gmt":"2014-11-24T09:47:16","slug":"safer-internet-day-educating-parents-on-internet-safety-for-their-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/02\/safer-internet-day-educating-parents-on-internet-safety-for-their-children.htm","title":{"rendered":"Safer Internet Day: Educating parents on Internet safety for their children"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A few weeks ago, I mentioned<\/a> that today is European Safer Internet Day<\/a> and, here in the UK a number of organisations are working with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP)<\/a> to educate parents and children in safe use of the Internet.\u00a0 I don’t work for Microsoft but, as an MVP<\/a>, I was invited to join in and tonight I’ll be delivering a session to parents at my son’s school, using Microsoft’s presentation deck<\/a> (although it has to be said that this is not a marketing deck – it’s full of real-world examples and practical advice about protecting children and young people from the specific dangers the Internet can pose, whilst allowing them to make full use of the ‘net’s many benefits: turning it off is not the answer).<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones\u00a0has reported some of the activities for Safer Internet Day<\/a>; although the Open Rights Group’s suggestion that this is all about scoring a publicity hit for a little cost are a little cynical – Microsoft has a social responsibility role to play and by working with CEOP to produce an IE 8 browser add-in<\/a> the UK subsidiary’s activities are laudable.\u00a0 If other browser-makers want to follow suit – then they can also work with CEOP (ditto for the social networking sites\u00a0that have yet to incorporate the Report Abuse button).\u00a0 Indeed, quoting from James O’Neill’s post this morning<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“We are part of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) and Gordon [Frazer – Microsoft UK MD and VP Microsoft International<\/a>]’s mail also said ‘This year as part of the ‘Click Clever Click Safe’ campaign UKCCIS will be launching a new digital safety code for children – ‘Zip It, Block It, Flag It’. Over 100 Microsoft volunteers will be out in schools in the UK teaching young people and parents alike about child online safety and helping build public awareness for simple safety tips.<\/p>\n

Our volunteering activities today mark our strong commitment to child online safety. Online safety is not only core to our business, as exemplified by particular features in Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and our work in developing the Microsoft Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) which helps law enforcement officials collaborate and share information with other police services to manage child protection cases, but it is also an issue that our employees, many parents themselves, take very seriously. As a company we put a great deal of faith in our technology, however, we are also aware that the tools we provide have to be used responsibly.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyway, I digress – part of the presentation I’ll be giving this evening will include a fact sheet, produced by Microsoft, that I’ll leave with parents and I’d like to repeat some of the advice it contains here (with a few edits of my own…).<\/p>\n

Safety Considerations<\/h3>\n

The Internet is a fantastic resource for young people but we must remember that the same as in the real world, there can be potential dangers to consider:<\/p>\n