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Child
Safety on the Information Highway
| The
information contained herein was written by Lawrence J.
Magid, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times, who is author of Cruising Online: Larry Magid’s Guide to the New Digital Highway
(Random House, 1994) and The
Little PC Book (Peachpit Press, 1993).
Child Safety on the Information Highway was jointly produced by
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
and the Interactive Services Association (8403
Colesville Road, Suite 865, Silver Spring, MD 20910,
e-mail: isa@isa.net).
This
information was made possible by the generous
sponsorship of:
- America
Online
- CompuServe
- Delphi
Internet
- e.World
- GEnie
- Interchange
Online Network
The
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
is funded under Cooperative Agreement #95-MC-CX-K001
from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department
of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this brochure
are those of NCMEC and do not necessarily represent the
official position or policies of the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Copyright
© 1994 NCMEC. |
Whatever
it's called, millions of people are now connecting their
personal computers to telephone lines so that they can "go
online." Traditionally, online services have been oriented
towards adults, but that's changing. An increasing number of
schools are going online and, in many homes, children are
logging on to commercial services, private bulletin boards, and
the Internet. As a parent you need to understand the nature of
these systems.
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Online
services are maintained by commercial, self-regulated
businesses that may screen or provide editorial/user
controls, when possible, of the material contained on their
systems.
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Computer
Bulletin Boards, called BBS systems, can be operated by
individuals, businesses, or organizations. The material
presented is usually theme oriented offering information on
hobbies and interests. While there are BBS systems that
feature "adult" oriented material, most attempt to
limit minors from accessing the information contained in
those systems.
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The
Internet, a global "network of networks," is
not governed by any entity. This leaves no limits or
checks on the kind of information that is maintained by and
accessible to Internet users.
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