Sites lack child protection

By Alex Kayle for Symantec
Johannesburg, 30 Jun 2009

There is a lack of online security to protect children browsing the Internet, Symantec revealed, at the Symantec cloud computing and innovations showcase, held last week at the Hospital Club, in London.

“Children's online activities have changed hugely because of the boom in social networks. Kids these days are not only communicating one-on-one with their peers, but are socialising in groups online, and this has made it difficult for parents to keep track,” said Jody Gibney, Symantec group product manager.

There is a growing gap where parents are disconnected from what their children are engaging in online, Gibney claimed. Based on this, Symantec's consumer product arm, Norton, released a free online software-based solution earlier this month, called OnlineFamily.Norton. It gives parents tools to find out what Web sites their children are browsing.

“The solution allows parents to not only see where their kids are going, but why they were going there in the first place. It's not only about tracking their kids, but also for parents to see what their kids' interests are.”

Gibney provided a demonstration of the solution, and said the service is cloud-based and can set rules for what children can access and what they cannot. In addition, it provides pie charts on what categories children are accessing, as well as revealing the children's most frequently used search terms. It can set online time, protect their personal information and monitor how they socialise on sites such as Facebook.

Children at risk

John Carr, secretary of the UK's Children's Charities Coalition on Internet Safety, said at the conference that children are more vulnerable and more at risk than adults with regards to stumbling upon inappropriate content and being targeted by sexual predators.

Carr states in a coalition manifesto, released 10 days ago, that parents need to ensure their children get the most out of the technologies and that they know how to use them safely: “Schools and the Internet industry have a vital supporting role to play. Providing a safe environment on the Internet for children and young people is a shared responsibility, just as it is a shared responsibility in any other environment.”

According to the manifesto, the coalition states that some sites, particularly social networking sites, still have no clear systems for children to report problems.

Carr urged the UK government to prepare a Bill that will compel Internet service providers (ISPs), based in the UK, to adopt the Internet Watch Foundation list, which blocks access to child abuse Web sites. In addition, he calls for the UK government to consider incentives encouraging ISPs to develop ways of tracking, blocking and destroying online child abuse images.

The Norton Online Living Report was released in May this year and surveyed around 9 000 adults and children in 12 countries. The survey found that 70% of US parents talk to their children about online safety; this figure has gone up by 20% compared to last year.

According to the security giant, as the Internet forms a larger part of people's lives, establishing boundaries for online activity between parents and children is vital.