We can expect to see some online-safety legislation coming out of Congress this fall, lawmakers themselves are saying. "Expect a new push … for laws aimed at keeping sexual predators off the likes of MySpace.com and elevating fines on Internet service providers that don't report child pornography," CNET reports, saying Democratic lawmakers are focusing particularly on anti-predator and -child … [Read more...] about US Congress: Net-safety push
predators
Online victimization: Facts emerging
It was great to see the Associated Press's "Net threats result of kids' online behavior." It means newspapers and broadcast media worldwide just may run this story, and more parents will be getting facts instead of scary messages based on ignorance, politics, well-intentioned guesswork. Here are some facts we have now:Fact No. 1: Posting personal info online isn't actually what makes kids most … [Read more...] about Online victimization: Facts emerging
Profile of a teen online victim
David Finkelhor, one of the US's top experts in online youth victimization, called her "Jenna" at the forum in Washington, D.C., where he was presenting his research. In what he described as a fairly typical predation case…. Jenna was 13 and "from a divorced family, frequented sex-oriented chatrooms, had the screenname 'Evilgirl.' There she met a guy who, after a number of conversations … [Read more...] about Profile of a teen online victim
How to recognize grooming
Sometimes the very reason kids and teens blog and spend time in social-networking sites is to “meet new friends.” So it’s not always easy for them to tell when “new friends” have bad intentions, and research consistently shows that about 20% of online kids receive unwanted sexual solicitations (see “Other resources” below). “Grooming” is the way sexual predators get from bad intentions to … [Read more...] about How to recognize grooming