Children's Group Calls for Internet Industry to Deliver on Promises 10 September 1999

Childnet International - the non-profit Internet child welfare organisation - called today at the Internet Content Summit in Munich Germany, for a renewed effort from the Internet industry to make the Internet a safer place for kids.

Nigel Williams, Director of Childnet, (who sat on the Bertelsmann Foundation Expert Group preparing for the Summit) said "The Summit Memorandum has 12 laudable proposals, which we broadly support. But the challenge is to implement these ideas. The industry needs especially to focus on ensuring their services are child and family friendly with easy to understand safety information and tools readily available". Work done by Childnet for the EC has shown that there is an enormous desire among parents for reliable safety information (see www.netaware.org).

Childnet was one of the first groups to call for an international rating system of Internet content. It has always argued that free speech is not compromised by accurate labelling of what web sites contain, and the choice by individual parents to limit what their children see by setting their browsers to exclude certain ratings. "No rating system will ever be perfect - but the benefits of pressing ahead with refining existing approaches are enormous. We welcome the debate on this and call on initiatives like the Internet Content Rating Association to move swiftly to implement and promote a new international rating system," said Williams.

Williams commended ISP's and online providers who already give priority to the family market -"The Internet is the most important advance for children's education and social development for decades. Childnet's Awards program has shown how the lives of disadvantaged children can be transformed by using the Net. But the dangers are real and must be taken seriously".

Childnet has been responsible for bringing industry, child welfare, law enforcement and user groups who run child pornography hotlines together in the INHOPE forum. Williams said "INHOPE shows that groups from many different backgrounds can work together to protect children. We particularly welcome the emphasis in the Summit Memorandum on partnership between different sectors."

Nigel Williams