Parents want more information about children’s safety online, says poll

Virtually all Canadian parents want more information about keeping their children safe online, but industry representatives say that concern isn’t slowing Internet penetration rates. The Online Child Safety Study, released last month by the Media Awareness Network, shows a full 93 per cent of Canadian parents want more information about how to help their children keep out of trouble on the Internet. The national survey, conducted this spring, also found that 43 per cent of parents reported that their children have received information from their schools about online safety. Only 18 per cent of respondents have used a parental filter, although 94 per cent agree that more information about filters is needed. Of those parents who have used a filter, however, 77 per cent found that it met their needs. Ian Hembery, VP of government affairs and communications at AOL Canada, a member of the Media Awareness Network, notes that worried parents haven’t stopped Canadians from signing up to the Internet in record numbers. "In the last year-and-a-half, our average usage per household has gone from 20 minutes to over 60 minutes a day," he says. "We’re a family service and we have up to seven individual sub-accounts per account, and what we find is that the number of children who are using our service has gone up significantly." He adds that subscriptions by households with children has "skyrocketed" over the past 18 months. Recognizing, however, that parental fears about unsuitable content is a potential hurdle to even greater growth, Hembery says that more needs to be done by AOL and other online services to educate parents. "One reason we’ve done this survey is we want to tell parents there is an issue. We want to publish results so that people start considering this. We want to do things that further the education component of it because there are things you can do about (online safety) in the minds of Canadian parents." The Media Awareness Network, an umbrella group which includes broadcasters and Internet service providers, says it’s preparing several initiatives to provide the education parents are asking for. The group has already run a series of public service announcements to drive viewers to its site. It also has at least one major initiative with a prominent kids organization planned for this fall. Cindy Wing, the Network’s media education specialist, says education should take priority over legislation. In the United States, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act has been blamed for several high-profile web site failures of late. The Act severely restricts the amount of information site owners can gather about young visitors, making a viable business plan a shaky proposition. Wing says rather than legislate, parents need to become better educated about online privacy. "Public education’s really important. We teach parents to understand what privacy policies mean when they go to a kids’ site," she told Canadian NEW MEDIA. "All of us need to protect our information. Kids are not concerned with protecting their information, so it’s a skill we have to teach them." Both Wing and Hembery say that despite a lack of regulation, Industry Canada is still very much involved in the issue. "I recall a year-and-a-half ago," says Hembery, "being challenged by (assistant deputy minister) Michael Binder saying, ‘the government is doing something about Internet safety. The CRTC has decided not to regulate the industry, so you – Internet service providers – have to exhibit that you are responsible corporate citizens.’" Wing says several tools are available to government to legislate safety without having to regulate content. Chief among those are the provisions of Bill C-15 which make child luring a crime on the Internet. That bill has been delayed, however, and is unlikely to be passed before Parliament’s summer recess.

Parents want more information about children’s safety online, says poll

Broadcast | June 14, 2001

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