It has recently been reported that ATVOD,
the video services regulator, will be meeting with financial organisations to
discuss the blocking of payments to websites which fail to stop children
accessing online pornography.
This proposal is intended to target the
growing exposure of children to hard-core pornography which, although legal, is
highly explicit. Some websites require
users wishing to access this material to verify their age but many others offer
free unrestricted access and these are the sites, many of which are hosted
overseas, which the new regulations seek
to target.
ATVOD report that the financial services
firms have been given a “very positive response” to the proposal. Credit card companies already monitor illegal
pornographic websites and liaise with CEOP and the Internet Watch Foundation
but this will be the first time that banks and credit card companies have been
asked to police legal material.
It hoped a voluntary deal can be reached
but government sources have indicated that Ministers would be prepared to
consider legislation if necessary.
Ministers are also backing efforts to encourage the internet industry to
develop ways of verifying the age of individuals viewing websites.
This is very exciting news and we are
really delighted that the government continues to make online child protection
a priority. This proposal, along with
the recent ‘default-on’ measures will make a real difference to children’s
accesses to potentially harmful content.
However these new measures will have
minimal effect on harmful contact
and conduct which remain a major
concern
Also in the news are reports that
cyber-blackmailers are abusing hundreds of children in the UK. Abusers posing online as children talk
victims into sexual acts or sharing of images, then threaten to send pictures
to the child's family and friends.
Occasionally the demands are financial but more often victims are forced
into ever more disturbing sexual activity or self-harm.
This is, of course, illegal and is a police
matter. It is some small consolation
that a group of men are about to stand trial in an undisclosed, non-European
country for inciting children to commit abusive sexual acts. But the numbers
involved in that single operation are a horrifying insight into the scale of
the problem: of the 490 children targeted worldwide some 322 were blackmailed,
96 of whom were in Britain.
And the same vast geographic reach of
the exploitation that makes it so peculiarly disturbing also makes it difficult
to police.
There is still much to be done to help
children both identify the dangers and disentangle themselves if they become
embroiled in a situation beyond their control. Criminal exploitation is not the only online
problem in need of a remedy; cyberbullying that sees children abusing and
victimising each other can be just as devastating in its effect as illustrated
by the sad case of Hannah Smith who killed herself in August following abuse on
question-and-answer site Ask.fm
Social media sites can, and must, do more
but there is a desperate need for education.
That means better-informed parents and schools tackling the subject
formally.
We are delighted that the work we are doing
with The Children and Families Media
Education Trust has an important role to play in this. Our work with parents and in schools will
help to make a difference. We have to
teach children that the ‘stranger danger’ message is just as applicable online
as it in the street. They must be
taught that, no matter what, there are adults who can help them and they must
also learn that online bullying is as unacceptable and destructive as its
offline counterpart.
If you, or anyone you know, has experience
of online abuse then The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee would be
interested in hearing from you as part of its inquiry into online safety. The Committee is seeking evidence and
opinions on preventing abusive or threatening comments on social media. Your thoughts would be much valued and you can
find out more here.
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