President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to appoint a federal Chief Technology Officer when he moves into the White House next year. But won't someone think of the children? The Family Online Safety Institute wants the new CTO's office to include a National Safety Officer, who would work with a proposed US Council for Internet Safety to help keep kids safe online, and oversee a $100 million education program.
The recommendations were issued at the group's annual conference Thursday, in a report titled "Making Wise Choices Online." As pointman for federal Internet child protection efforts, the NSO would oversee an Online Safety Program, modeled on the European Union's Safer Internet program, devoted to funding research and education projects. Funded to the tune of $100 million per year for three years, the OSP would accept competitive bids from NGOs to raise awareness about hazards children face online and study the efficacy of different child protection programs and policies.
The NSO would also work with a new Council for Internet Safety that brings together industry leaders, nonprofits, and government agency heads to develop a coordinated strategy for online child protection. To further that end, the group suggests, the White House should also host an annual Online Safety Summit to review the progress of these efforts and set goals and benchmarks.
Somewhat unusually—though perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the FOSI is composed of and funded by major telecom and software firms—the report also pushes back against the alarmism and moral panic that often characterize discussions of kids on the Internet. The lascivious adult predator may have become a stock character in sensational news stories and reality TV shows, the report notes, but kids are far more likely to face such threats as cyberbullying by peers. And as a survey this week revealed, there's a fair chance that any porn in Junior's inbox comes from a classmate rather than some leering stranger in a trenchcoat.
Instead of treating child protection primarily as a law enforcement concern, the report suggests, the government should emulate the European model, recognizing children as active participants in Internet culture and ensuring that they have the skills to navigate online spaces responsibly. It also takes a few shots at the Bush administration for backing away from Clinton-era efforts on this score.
These recommendations, a cynic might note, dovetail with the interests of telecoms and online service providers who tend to be chary of regulation. But in a conversation dominated by To Catch a Predator hysteria, they provide some welcome balance.
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