New Social Networking Guidelines for Kids' Safety
This past year has seen massive growth in the area of online communities. Unfortunately, the growth has been faster than anyone anticipated and we're just beginning to understand some of the negative repercussions for kids. MySpace, in particular, has had a lot of criticism over their policies in the past year in the wake of numerous scandals including an abundance of registered sex offenders to a highly publicized cyber bullying tragedy.
Today we got some good news. MySpace announced a "Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Sites Safety" according to a press release issued earlier today. The document, written in conjunction with Attorneys General from the "Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking" outlines 4 key areas for increasing the safety of teens using social networking sites including changes to site functions, education for parents, law enforcement and the creation of an Online Safety Task Force. The document was approved by 49 states and the District of Columbia. Texas did not approve the guidelines claiming that they still don't do enough to keep young kids from signing on and accessing in appropriate content. Other social networking sites are encouraged to adopt the guidelines as well.
Keep your eyes out for more information on the subject over the next few days.
Comments
while it’s quite hard to keep track of our children’s activities, it’s still important to have them aware of the implications rather than turning a blind eye when worse comes to worst. teaching them responsibility must be the only way to keep them safe.