Protection of Children on the Internet

Protection of children on the internet

Executive Summary:

The protection of children on the internet brings about the discussion of whether the internet is suitable for all ages. The power of the online business world can offer companies the chance to develop strong business relationships, source cheaper suppliers, and market to customers all over the world. These are wonderful opportunities which are brought about due to the freedom of speech in the form of blogs, opinions and wikis, the freedom to search, browse and shop for better and cheaper options for consumers. Consumers can rely not just on what the company say about themselves, but what the company’ consumers and employees say about them. This has opened up a world of opportunities which has excelled in the last decade.

But we must then ask ourselves, dose this freedom harm anyone? Well some business people may say yes. Small businesses can be drowned by bigger multinationals that can supply and buy in bulk, which allows them to sell cheaply to their consumers. What about the regular consumer? What about their family? Has anyone really ever stopped to think about how online freedom can affect children? Take porn sites for example, the only protection they have is to ask you to click through to say you’re over 18. Is this really enough? Can you think of the damage it would do to the fragile mind of a ten year old child if they stumbled upon these sites. So how do we prevent this?

We believe it is important to address the problems of children online under four main headings; Cyber Bullying, Child Protection, Web Security and Social Networking Safety.

Cyber Bullying:

Cyber bullying has only become a social issue in the past ten years. With the development of social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, and Facebook, cyber bullying between children in school has excelled. Children are also using online forums, emails and text messages to...