WASHINGTON, D.C. –  A diverse coalition of technology companies, child advocacy and parents’ groups, educators, and health researchers – joined by U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and John Shimkus (R-IL) – today announced a comprehensive set of recommendations that companies in the Internet industry can adopt as best practices to help keep children safe and smart when online.  The effort marks the first time such an inclusive task force, representing companies and organizations such Verizon, Comcast, Cox, Google, Yahoo!, AOL, Symantec, Common Sense Media, the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe), PTA, Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), and the Children’s Partnership, has come together to develop recommendations for industry best practices along with suggestions for policymakers to bring better coordination to online safety efforts and education efforts.

Contained in the report PointSmart.ClickSafe: Task Force Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy, found online at www.pointsmartreport.org, the group’s recommendations span all sectors of the Internet industry and are intended to be applied selectively based on a company’s role and the types of services it offers.  Embracing a child-centered perspective, the PointSmart.ClickSafe. recommendations address three categories of children’s online experience – before they go online,  during online activities, and when problems arise – and suggest best practices for each stage.  The recommendations recognize that a singular focus on safety is insufficient and that children also need to learn digital and media literacy skills to help them think more critically about their online activities and content they consume and create.

The best practice recommendations suggest that:

• Before children go online, basic information and education about the digital landscape should be in place and available to all children, parents, educators and caregivers so they can understand risks and appropriate behavior while online, and what options they have for proper use of the service.
• During a child’s online activity, technology and information should be available that can define and control a child’s digital activities and help parents establish the structure that best meets their family needs.
• When problems arise online, companies should have robust procedures, systems and resources to handle complaints, report necessary trouble spots and cooperate with appropriate enforcement agencies if applicable.

The task force report also recognizes that while the issue of online safety spans many stakeholder groups and jurisdictions, most Internet safety efforts have been fragmented and there is often a significant lack of coordination and resources.  To address this gap, the report calls for more coordination at the national level supplemented with adequate resource development. 

Specifically, the report asks policymakers to consider:

• Expanding online safety efforts to emphasize digital media literacy and education programs that empower parents and teachers to prepare kids to navigate the world of online and digital media. 
• Designation by the President or Congress of a lead federal agency that would work collaboratively and comprehensively with all major stakeholders in marshaling resources for the improvement of online safety and Internet literacy and coordinate the activities under diverse federal programs.     
• Consideration by education policymakers to adopt a set of national goals for online safety, including if possible minimum standards for a curriculum on digital literacy.
• Ensuring that all digital literacy and online safety programs are funded through competitive grants open to qualified applicants, with periodic review and assessment built into the grant process, so that the results from the best programs can be replicated in other communities. 
• Supporting digital literacy and online safety efforts by providing funding for: Research on the learning potential of digital media; New modes of assessment and evidentiary standards; Professional development for teachers; Curriculum development for students; Public awareness campaigns for parents and families; and Research designed to identify, highlight, and promote best practices and further solutions to improve digital literacy and fortify online safety.

The PointSmart.ClickSafe. Task Force, and its new report, is the outgrowth of a major summit convened by iKeepSafe, Common Sense Media, Cable in the Classroom, and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association in Washington, DC in June 2008 to discuss best practices for keeping children safe online.

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Statements from Members of the PointSmart.ClickSafe. Task Force

John Ryan, Chief Public Safety Officer, AOL:

“AOL has a long history of providing children and families with a safer online experience. We are pleased to be part of such a diverse taskforce and to support the recommendations for industry online safety best practices.  As a company, we are committed to creating tools for parents to help protect children online.”

Laurie Lipper, Founder and Co-President, The Children’s Partnership:

“The Children’s Partnership welcomes the recommendations in this report, which represent a positive step in providing online safety information and tools for children and their parents.  We are pleased that these recommendations apply to the many diverse sectors of the Internet industry and believe that the child-centered approach will help industry organize and highlight important information and useful applications for families. We especially appreciate the recommendation to make these benefits available in plain language and, when possible, in multiple languages so that the great diversity of America’s families can effectively guide their children online.” 

Jay Opperman, Senior Director of Security & Privacy, Comcast:

“As the nation’s leading residential Internet Service Provider, Comcast takes our responsibility to provide a safe and secure online experience very seriously and we are pleased to contribute to the PointSmart.ClickSafe Best Practices Report to help keep children safe online.”

Jim Steyer, CEO and Founder, Common Sense Media:

“All of us – educators, policymakers, internet and media companies, and of course, parents – have to step up our efforts and work together.  We all share responsibility for helping kids make safe and smart internet decisions through digital media literacy and education.  There is more work ahead, but the fact that all of the key constituents came together to highlight this serious issue and present these best practices is a very encouraging sign that we can, and will, keep our kids safe online.”

Necole Merritt, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Cox Communications:

“Internet and wireless safety awareness and education efforts are a central focus of Cox Communications’ corporate social responsibility efforts through our Take Charge! program established in 2004.  We applaud the efforts of the PointSmart.Click Safe task force for advancing the study of the critical issues of online safety and Internet literacy, and most importantly, for clearly defining best practices which can be applied across industries to ensure an even safer Internet in the future.”

Stephen Balkam, CEO, Family Online Safety Institute:

“The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) strongly supports the recommendations from the NCTA Task Force and its emphasis on research, education and evaluation of existing online safety methods. Kids today are increasingly tech savvy.  It is vital that we help them develop digital media literacy skills and guide them how to use technology in a safe and responsible way.  At FOSI, we are working with various stakeholders to build a culture of responsibility online and this report will add impetus for a cohesive and collaborative approach to not only keep kids safe, but also to encourage personal resiliency and responsibility for their online actions.”

Pablo Chavez, Managing Public Policy Counsel, Google:

“We believe that the PointSmart.ClickSafe. task force is an important example of how industry and consumer groups can work together to keep kids safe, and we are happy to be a contributor to the Recommendations for Best Practices for Online Safety and Literacy.  Protecting children online is a shared responsibility, and we look forward to working with the task force to continue to explore and share innovative best practices to ensure a safe online experience for all of our users.” 

Marsali Hancock, President, iKeepSafe:

“I was honored to be part of the Blue Ribbon Task Force that brought together so many key stakeholders including public health--all looking for industry best practices that will improve the online experience for youth. This was real work: industry stakeholders actively participated and debated. We all considered every option that was brought to the table, looking for new tools and expectations that promote cyber-citizenship. iKeepSafe is pleased to take these valuable findings on to the NTIA working group as a springboard for future discussion. Moving forward we encourage industry to simplify and expand the process of reporting abuse to allow for intervention, prevention and bystander awareness initiatives. We're encouraged by new industry trends that allow more options for users around identity, privacy and reputation management.”

Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association:

“NCTA is proud to have been part of this outstanding group of companies, educators, advocacy groups and online safety pioneers that all share the same goal of improving our Internet safety and education efforts. This report and the best practice recommendations are the culmination of thoughtful discussion and constructive suggestions from all members of the task force.  We will continue to do our part to help cable companies provide a safe and positive online environment for all.”

Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, President, National PTA:

“National PTA is pleased to support the PointSmart.ClickSafe. report and best practice recommendations.  National PTA, the nation’s largest volunteer child advocacy association, has a strong legacy of working to address issues concerning children’s education, health and well being.  PTA works to improve media and Internet safety by providing relevant resources and tools to parents to manage media and to be safe and thoughtful users of media and technology.

PTA has participated in the task force over the last year and is pleased to see the internet industry taking voluntary action to address the critical issue of children’s online safety.  When implemented by internet industry companies, these best practices will be an important contribution to minimizing risks and creating a safe and secure online environment for children.”

Adam Thierer, Senior Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation:

“It was a great honor to serve on this working group alongside so many respected child safety experts and advocates.  The working group has produced a stellar report, finding that there is no single ‘silver-bullet’ solution to child safety concerns. Instead, we need a holistic approach based on education, empowerment, and sensible industry self-regulation. The best practices outlined in this report will set a new benchmark for online operators going forward to ensure that they have policies in place to keep kids and parents educated and informed about how to stay safe online.”

Catherine Teitelbaum, Director, Child Safety & Product Policy, Yahoo!:

“Yahoo! has been helping to ensure children's online safety and literacy for many years, and we applaud the PointSmart. ClickSafe. initiative for establishing best practices that we believe will help make a difference for children the world over.  This year-long effort has brought many stakeholders to the table with the singular goal of helping make the internet a safer place for children, and Yahoo! is thrilled to play its part in helping to make that a reality.”

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