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Safer Internet Day: parents failing to protect children from online threats
11/02/2014

Less than half of parents using parental controls to block unsuitable online material

 
 
Article

Millions of children are being exposed to a range of online threats at an increasingly young age, according to new figures, with less than half of parents using parental controls to block unsuitable material.

Over the last year, 77 per cent of parents bought their children an internet-enabled device. However, parental controls available within anti-virus software, online or the device are only used by 45 per cent of parents, according to research by internet security company ESET to mark Safter Internet Day.

Part of the reason is that many parents feel alienated by the rapid pace of change in the online landscape. A third confessed to feeling ill-equipped to educate their children about staying safe online, with a quarter saying that they never talk to their children about the importance of being cyber-safe.

A third also suggested that their children have better knowledge of internet safety than they do, with a half claiming that their children hide aspects of their internet activity from them.

Forty-five percent of parents would prefer schools to teach their children about security, while 51 percent want to see more support from the government in having these conversations.

“Children are spending more time online than ever before, whether this be for education, gaming or socialising with their friends. With this however, we’re also seeing a diversification in the dangers they face," said UK Safer Internet Centre director David Wright

"As such, parents and carers ought to feel comfortable with the technology their children are using. Informed parental guidance and best practise are critical in teaching children life lessons in navigating the Internet safely until it’s second nature.”

Separate research by Kaspersky Lab found that more than a quarter of parents believe their children have been exposed to online risks, such as accessing inappropriate content or cyber bullying, in the past 12 months.

Last year, ISPs in the UK introduced network filters which can block inappropriate content from all the online devices within the home. The filters block access to pornography, "obscene and tasteless" content, hate and self-harm, drugs, alcohol and tobacco and some dating sites.

However, an investigation by the BBC’s Newsnight programme in December revealed that many websites that children have a legitimate right to access are also blocked by these filters. Among websites blocked by TalkTalk was BishUK.com, a sexual advice website written by a qualified youth worker, and the Edinburgh Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre website.

The government is now in the process of compiling a 'whitelist' of websites that have been mistakenly blocked by new web filters. Once the whitelist has been compliled, it will be shared among internet service providers, so that they can tweak their filters to allow access to these sites.

Over 500 organisations have pledged their support for Safer Internet Day 2014, including the BBC, Tesco, Microsoft, Disney Club Penguin, Facebook, Google and the NSPCC.

"As a father of young children, I know how much parents worry about what their kids can see online," said Prime Minister David Cameron, voicing his support for the day.

"Under this Government, we have seen progress, with the introduction of family friendly filters and Google and Microsoft clamping down on child abuse images online. There is nothing more important than protecting our children; Government, industry, charity and parents all have a part to play.”

 
 
 
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