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| Wilson Works to Raise Profile of Online Child Safety |
June 21, 2005 |
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Child Safety Quiz Available; New Public Service Announcement Raising Awareness
 Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson, a member of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, today joined in a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to raise the profile of online child safety precautions.
“The Internet is not a safe place for unsupervised children,” Wilson said. “Technology opens a world of learning opportunities, but parents must always be aware of what’s out there.”
Wilson is pictured above at the event with Sen. Orrin Hatch, left, and Rep. Mark Kennedy, center.
Wilson, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and several other leaders of the Senate and House Caucuses on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children, today joined an informational session at the U.S. Capitol sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the Ad Council and Qwest Communications.
Prior to the event, Wilson took the “Parents Safety-Net Test,” an online quiz designed to educate parents, guardians and mentors about online child safety issues. To access the “Parents Safety-Net Test” click here.
The Ad Council and NCMEC also today presented a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) to be aired throughout the nation to raise awareness. The PSA is particularly designed for the safety of teenaged girls. To view it online click here.
Online safety experts recommend that parents learn how to check their child’s web surfing history, and offered tips on where to place computers, using Internet rating services, filtering websites, software that can help promote safety, learning about chat rooms, setting violence guidelines in computer games.
“Of the estimated 24 million child Internet users, one in five has received unwanted sexual solicitations,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. “Through the Parents Safety-Net Test, parents can become more informed and involved in their children’s online lives.”
 About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice`s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC works to combat possession, manufacturing and distribution of child pornography; online enticement of children for sexual acts; child prostitution; child sexual tourism; extra-familial child sexual molestation; unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and misleading domain names. To date, NCMEC has handled more than 330,000 reports of these offenses from the public through its congressionally mandated CyberTipline www.cybertipline.com. For more information about NCMEC, call 1-800-THE-LOST or visit www.missingkids.com.
About Qwest Communications
Qwest Communications International Inc. provides voice, video and data services and has more than 40,000 employees. |
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