Task Force Recommendations
for best practices for child online safety.
Online Safety Advocates
Endorse Point Smart Report
Statements Regarding Release of “PointSmart.ClickSafe.: Task Force Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy”
A diverse coalition of technology companies, child advocacy and parents’ groups, educators, and health researchers – joined by U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and John Shimkus (R-IL) – on July 8, 2009 announced a comprehensive set of recommendations that companies in the Internet industry can adopt as best practices to help keep children safe and smart when online.
Members of Congress
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL):"I applaud the release of this vital report, which makes clear the strong need for Internet safety education. Knowledge must be our children's first line of defense. From online predators and bullies to teens 'sexting' photos of themselves, we have an obligation to make sure our children, their teachers, and parents, are aware of these dangers and have the information they need to protect themselves and make smart choices online."
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL):
“I have three sons and I introduced the Dot Kids legislation with the belief that parents could let younger children play games and surf the Internet without worrying about indecent material or predators on social networking sites. I believe the key to protecting children online is education, and so I appreciate all the work the participants of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. report have done to help us help parents understand the possible dangers and to teach them how to take action to prevent abuse.”
Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL):
“The Internet has transformed our society and our economy. I’m always encouraged to see how readily our children take to the Internet, as it will be a vital tool for them when they grow up. But the Internet is not a toy, and holds real dangers for children. I commend this task force for bringing together a broad coalition to promote best practices for protecting our families.”
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA):
“Too many parents are unaware of the serious dangers that may be only a mouse-click away from harming their children online. The report released today (‘PointSmart.ClickSafe.: Task Force Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy’) will help empower families with valuable information to keep them safe when they use the Internet. I applaud the NCTA and all involved in this informative report for their leadership in protecting children and raising awareness about this important issue.”
Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC):
“Internet safety is a serious concern everywhere and unfortunately children are just as vulnerable on the Internet in their home as they are alone outside their home. Efforts such as “PointSmart.ClickSafe.” help lawmakers, both federal and state, implement laws that protect our children and ensure that stakeholders continue to work together to promote public safety. Parents can also benefit from the summit’s recommendations. Everyone involved should be congratulated on their efforts to improve child safety on the Internet.”
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ):
“While the potential benefits are limitless, there are dangers associated with children using the internet in an uninformed manner. The way to meet these challenges and opportunities isn't to deny our children access to this great resource, but to make sure they know how to use it wisely. Just as we teach our children not to talk to strangers, not to bully kids on the playground, and not to give out their personal information, we have the same responsibility to teach them to apply these values online.”
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), Co-Chair and Founder of the Victims’ Rights Caucus:
“Today’s announcement of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. report and its best practice recommendations demonstrates the importance of protecting children from inappropriate content on the Internet, an important priority of mine. The PointSmart.ClickSafe. diverse and never before gathered combination of educators, parents groups, health researchers and technology companies makes it clear that the commitment to children’s online safety and digital literacy must be embraced by all to be successful.”
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND):
“Protecting children from inappropriate content on the Internet has long been one of my top priorities in Congress. The PointSmart.ClickSafe. report and best practice recommendations provide parents, educators and lawmakers with powerful tools to help ensure that the Internet remains a safe and rewarding resource for our children.”
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR):
“The Internet is an extraordinary educational tool for children, but it also poses very real dangers. PointSmart.ClickSafe. is a wonderful resource that helps parents maximize the Internet’s educational opportunities for their kids while minimizing its risk. As a father of two teenagers I know how important – and challenging – this task is, and we must do everything in our power to help families keep their children safe.”
Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA), Ranking Member of the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee:
“As a parent of a tech savvy child, I know first hand the importance of ensuring that our children are safe when using the Internet. This is a very high priority for me in Congress, and I am very pleased with today’s announcement of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. report that provides best practice recommendations to keep children safer online. I want to commend the unprecedented collaboration between technology groups, child advocacy and parents’ groups, educators and health researchers who devoted their time, and thank them all for helping us make the Internet a safer place for children.”
Rep. Zack Space (D-OH):
“As a member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, I have been working hard to increase broadband access to rural America. In moving toward this goal, we must ensure that we are also improving online safety measures and education efforts for our children and families.”
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), Co-Chair of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children’s Caucus:
“While we have made significant accomplishments in recent years to protect children online, much remains to be done to make the Internet safe. The recommendations provided in this report provide a valuable framework that companies not only can but should implement to keep children safe. The anonymity of the Internet has brought out the worst in a small but growing number of people and placed our children at risk. The Internet is a valuable learning tool for children, but we must make the same commitment to ensuring its safety as we do to the safety of our classrooms. The coordination of the private and public sectors, as well as the commitment of individual citizens and parents in particular, will be necessary to accomplish this important goal.”
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI):
“As the Internet has grown into a social networking haven where our kids spend hours virtually hanging out and meeting their friends, it is imperative that our efforts to keep kids safe online evolve as well. As a father of two, I applaud this outstanding collaboration to aggressively inform our kids on the potential perils on the Internet. PointSmart.ClickSafe. takes the necessary steps to increase awareness and safety for our kids - teaching children smart techniques to keep them safe in a world where trouble is often lurking one click away.”
Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT):
“As this report makes clear, today’s ever-evolving digital environment requires us to get serious about protecting our children online. These best practice recommendations, developed by a coalition of public and private sector interests, are a useful resource for those who are committed to ensuring young people enjoy the Internet safely, appropriately and responsibly.”
Members of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. Task Force
John Ryan, Chief Public Safety Officer, AOL:“AOL has a long history of providing children and families with a safer online experience. We are pleased to be part of such a diverse task force and to support the recommendations for industry online safety best practices. As a company, we are committed to creating tools for parents to help protect children online.”
Laurie Lipper, Founder and Co-President, The Children’s Partnership:
“The Children’s Partnership welcomes the recommendations in this report, which represent a positive step in providing online safety information and tools for children and their parents. We are pleased that these recommendations apply to the many diverse sectors of the Internet industry and believe that the child-centered approach will help industry organize and highlight important information and useful applications for families. We especially appreciate the recommendation to make these benefits available in plain language and, when possible, in multiple languages so that the great diversity of America’s families can effectively guide their children online.”
Jay Opperman, Senior Director of Security & Privacy, Comcast:
“As the nation’s leading residential Internet Service Provider, Comcast takes our responsibility to provide a safe and secure online experience very seriously and we are pleased to contribute to the PointSmart.ClickSafe. Best Practices Report to help keep children safe online.”
Jim Steyer, CEO and Founder, Common Sense Media:
“All of us – educators, policymakers, internet and media companies, and of course, parents – have to step up our efforts and work together. We all share responsibility for helping kids make safe and smart internet decisions through digital media literacy and education. There is more work ahead, but the fact that all of the key constituents came together to highlight this serious issue and present these best practices is a very encouraging sign that we can, and will, keep our kids safe online.”
Necole Merritt, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Cox Communications:
“Internet and wireless safety awareness and education efforts are a central focus of Cox Communications’ corporate social responsibility efforts through our Take Charge! program established in 2004. We applaud the efforts of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. task force for advancing the study of the critical issues of online safety and Internet literacy, and most importantly, for clearly defining best practices which can be applied across industries to ensure an even safer Internet in the future.”
Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute:
“The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) strongly supports the recommendations from the NCTA Task Force and its emphasis on research, education and evaluation of existing online safety methods. Kids today are increasingly tech savvy. It is vital that we help them develop digital media literacy skills and guide them how to use technology in a safe and responsible way. At FOSI, we are working with various stakeholders to build a culture of responsibility online and this report will add impetus for a cohesive and collaborative approach to not only keep kids safe, but also to encourage personal resiliency and responsibility for their online actions.”
Pablo Chavez, Managing Public Policy Counsel, Google:
“We believe that the PointSmart.ClickSafe. task force is an important example of how industry and consumer groups can work together to keep kids safe, and we are happy to be a contributor to the Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy. Protecting children online is a shared responsibility, and we look forward to working with the task force to continue to explore and share innovative best practices to ensure a safe online experience for all of our users.”
Marsali Hancock, President, iKeepSafe:
“I was honored to be part of the Blue Ribbon Task Force that brought together so many key stakeholders including public health--all looking for industry best practices that will improve the online experience for youth. This was real work: industry stakeholders actively participated and debated. We all considered every option that was brought to the table, looking for new tools and expectations that promote cyber-citizenship. iKeepSafe is pleased to take these valuable findings on to the NTIA working group as a springboard for future discussion. Moving forward we encourage industry to simplify and expand the process of reporting abuse to allow for intervention, prevention and bystander awareness initiatives. We're encouraged by new industry trends that allow more options for users around identity, privacy and reputation management.”
Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association:
“NCTA is proud to have been part of this outstanding group of companies, educators, advocacy groups and online safety pioneers that all share the same goal of improving our Internet safety and education efforts. This report and the best practice recommendations are the culmination of thoughtful discussion and constructive suggestions from all members of the task force. We will continue to do our part to help cable companies provide a safe and positive online environment for all.”
Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, President, National PTA:
“National PTA is pleased to support the PointSmart.ClickSafe. report and best practice recommendations. National PTA, the nation’s largest volunteer child advocacy association, has a strong legacy of working to address issues concerning children’s education, health and well being. PTA works to improve media and Internet safety by providing relevant resources and tools to parents to manage media and to be safe and thoughtful users of media and technology.
PTA has participated in the task force over the last year and is pleased to see the internet industry taking voluntary action to address the critical issue of children’s online safety. When implemented by internet industry companies, these best practices will be an important contribution to minimizing risks and creating a safe and secure online environment for children.”
Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation:
“It was a great honor to serve on this working group alongside so many respected child safety experts and advocates. The working group has produced a stellar report, finding that there is no single ‘silver-bullet’ solution to child safety concerns. Instead, we need a holistic approach based on education, empowerment, and sensible industry self-regulation. The best practices outlined in this report will set a new benchmark for online operators going forward to ensure that they have policies in place to keep kids and parents educated and informed about how to stay safe online.”
Catherine Teitelbaum, Director, Child Safety & Product Policy, Yahoo!:
“Yahoo! has been helping to ensure children's online safety and literacy for many years, and we applaud the PointSmart.ClickSafe. initiative for establishing best practices that we believe will help make a difference for children the world over. This year-long effort has brought many stakeholders to the table with the singular goal of helping make the internet a safer place for children, and Yahoo! is thrilled to play its part in helping to make that a reality.”