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INTERNET
SAFETY OUTREACH:
FBI joins Congressional educational briefing
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02/10/04
Do
kids love the Internet?
Yes.
Do kids spend lots of time on the Internet?
Yes.
Can the Internet be a dangerous place for kids?
Yes. You know that.
The
problem is how to keep kids safe when they're online,
and that's really hard to do. In simple terms, it's
a matter of 1) blocking and locking up the dangers
and 2) teaching kids (and parents) how to be smart
about avoiding them. And that takes the proverbial
"village": parents, other kids, schools,
law enforcement, technology specialists, and community
organizations.
The
FBI is part of the effort, wearing three different
hats:
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Law
enforcement (investigating online predators and
patrolling chat rooms).
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Community
organization (going into classrooms and working
one-on-one with kids; going into auditoriums and
talking to kids and parents alike about dangers
and solutions; papering the place with A
Parent's Guide to Internet Safety.
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Concerned
parents (of course, we have kids too!).
Today,
wearing our "community organization" hat,
the FBI is participating in a educational briefing
before the U.S. Congress as part of a panel of experts
on Internet issues. Supervisory Special Agent Bobi
Wallace, Chief of the FBI's Community Relations
Unit, Office of Public Affairs, is joining representatives
from Verisign, i-SAFE America, Symantec, South Carolina
Law Enforcement-Internet Crimes, and Carnegie Mellon
University's CyLab. She is testifying on how the
FBI is working in schools across the country to
teach kids smart Internet habits. She is making
the point that FBI experience investigating online
pornographers and predators makes its advice especially
persuasive to kids who might run into them.
We
encourage you to read her testimony.
And while you're at it, visit the Community
Outreach Program and For
the Family to get a better sense of the range
of family-related resources available to you on
this site.
Related
Links: The
FBI Crimes Against Children Program | i-SAFE
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