New law requires online safety education
Laptop Security Blog New law requires online safety education
October 30th, 2008
Author: arieannaThe Broadband Data Improvement Act (S.1492) was recently signed into Federal law. The legislation that would improve the collection of data on broadband availability 
and fund greater access to high-speed Internet access. As part of the new legislation, schools receiving the e-Rate discounts on telecommunications services will soon be required to teach students about online safety.
The e-Rate program provides discounts for schools of 20-90% for telecommunication services including Internet access. The proposed Broadband Data Improvement Act, introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, has a provision that would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish a nationwide campaign to “increase public awareness and provide education regarding strategies to promote the safe use of the Internet by children.”
Originally, a separate bill entitled ‘Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act’, was proposed to congress. The Senate Commerce Committee merged the language of this bill into the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which has now become law. The new law recognizes that education must go hand-in-hand with technology to protect children from online predators.
The Online Safety and Technology Working Group was established, under the legislation, to evaluate online safety education efforts, parental control technologies, and much more. In addition, a section of the Act requires that schools create an Internet safety policy that educates minors “about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.”
I think it is great that steps are being taken to increase the awareness of online safety issues for children.
Via eschoolnews, eweek, consumer affairs, cnet ; Image: Microsoft Office Clipart / iStockphoto.com
Category: Education Security, Privacy & Security Laws | 
2 Comments »
This is a great step and should be required for all schools across the country. The Internet affects way more kids than drugs and they are constantly preached (the wrongs of, that is). Parents that want to keep their kids safe at home should also check out our program, PC Pandora (www.pcpandora.com). It records all activity via snapshots so you can playback everything that your child did, like a DVR. Plus there are text-based files for emails, chat conversations, weblogs, keystrokes, etc. And it has filters, blocks and email-a-parent capabilities. And it’s relatively cheap ($40 one-time buy – no subscription). Just tossing the name out there if you are in a search for software to help keep your kids safe online… Know your child is being safe with software that monitors and records all activity. Don’t play guessing games with filters and blocks… your kids will still find a way to get what they want, but with monitoring software – you can see them do it and talk to them about it.
Schools across the country are struggling with issues of cyberbullying and social networking behavior. Here’s a curriculum that empowers teachers and students to face these issues head on. Check it out at http://www.faceourselves.com