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Kidsonline: Safe Chatting tips for Children CHAT WISE, STREET WISE - SAFE INTERNET CHAT FOR CHILDREN Internet Service Providers, the police, Government, children's charities and parents all have a part to play in making Internet chat fun but safe for the estimated 5 million children that are now online in the UK. This is the conclusion of a detailed report "Chat Wise Street Wise" published today by the Internet Crime Forum (ICF). Internet chat - the ability to hold typed 'conversations' with people of all ages and backgrounds from across the world - can be fun and informative for children, and with an estimated 100,000 Internet chatrooms available to users in the UK, chat is becoming increasingly popular among young users. And while cases to date are very low in proportion to the rapidly growing rate of Internet use, there is a risk that Internet chat can be abused by a criminal minority to make contact with children with a view to developing a sexual relationship with them in the 'real world'. The ICF report makes a number of recommendations for Internet Service Providers, the police, Government and children's charities to ensure that Internet chat for children is "Chat Wise Street Wise." These will be taken forward at a Government sponsored summit shortly. - education programmes should be aimed at parents and other carers to advise them of the potential risks to children using chat services and appropriate steps they can take to protect them;- Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should provide clear advice to their subscribers about child-friendly chat, and actively promote chat services specifically targeted at their age range; - children's chatrooms should be supervised ('moderated'), and a user-friendly reporting mechanism should be available for users to report incidents in chat rooms for investigation; - ISPs, user groups and children's organisations should develop a kitemarking scheme which would offer a simple way for parents to identify chat services which are safe for children; - the IT industry should continue to research better, cheaper and more user-friendly technical solutions to the potential dangers of chat, including measures to ensure an appropriate level of traceability for online abusers; - police officers should have specialised training and increased resources to ensure a prompt and effective response to reports of incidents in chat rooms; - relevant UK legislation should be kept under review to ensure that it can meet changing circumstances - on- and off-line - to protect children from abuse. The report also recommends a number of safety messages that parents and carers should pass onto their children:- don't give out personal details, photographs, or any other information that could be used to identify you; - don't take other people at face value - they may not be what they seem; - never arrange to meet someone you've only ever previously met on the Internet without first telling your parents, getting their permission and taking a responsible adult with you; - always stay in the public areas of chat where there are other people around; - don't open an attachment or downloaded file unless you know and trust the person who has sent it. - if you find something you don't like, save it, print it, log off and tell an adult. The members of the Internet Crime Forum will continue to work in partnership to build upon the recommendations of this report to find effective solutions to combating danger to children on the Internet.

Kidsonline: Safe Chatting tips for Children

CHAT WISE, STREET WISE - SAFE INTERNET CHAT FOR CHILDREN

Internet Service Providers, the police, Government, children's charities and parents all have a part to play in making Internet chat fun but safe for the estimated 5 million children that are now online in the UK. This is the conclusion of a detailed report "Chat Wise Street Wise" published today by the Internet Crime Forum (ICF).

Internet chat - the ability to hold typed 'conversations' with people of all ages and backgrounds from across the world - can be fun and informative for children, and with an estimated 100,000 Internet chatrooms available to users in the UK, chat is becoming increasingly popular among young users.

And while cases to date are very low in proportion to the rapidly
growing rate of Internet use, there is a risk that Internet chat can be abused by a criminal minority to make contact with children with a view to developing a sexual relationship with them in the 'real world'.

The ICF report makes a number of recommendations for Internet Service Providers, the police, Government and children's charities to ensure that Internet chat for children is "Chat Wise Street Wise." These will be taken forward at a Government sponsored summit shortly.

- education programmes should be aimed at parents and other carers to advise them of the potential risks to children using chat services and appropriate steps they can take to protect them;- Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should provide clear advice to their subscribers about child-friendly chat, and actively promote
chat services specifically targeted at their age range;

- children's chatrooms should be supervised ('moderated'), and a user-friendly reporting mechanism should be available for users to report incidents in chat rooms for investigation; - ISPs, user groups and children's organisations should develop a kitemarking scheme which would offer a simple way for parents to identify chat services which are safe for children; - the IT industry should continue to research better, cheaper and more user-friendly technical solutions to the potential dangers of chat, including measures to ensure an appropriate level of traceability for online abusers;

- police officers should have specialised training and increased resources to ensure a prompt and effective response to reports of incidents in chat rooms;
- relevant UK legislation should be kept under review to ensure that it can meet changing circumstances - on- and off-line - to protect children from abuse.

The report also recommends a number of safety messages that parents and carers should pass onto their children:- don't give out personal details, photographs, or any other information that could be used to identify you; - don't take other people at face value - they may not be what they seem;

- never arrange to meet someone you've only ever previously met on the Internet without first telling your parents, getting their permission and taking a responsible adult with you; - always stay in the public areas of chat where there are other
people around; - don't open an attachment or downloaded file unless you know and
trust the person who has sent it.

- if you find something you don't like, save it, print it, log off and tell an adult.

The members of the Internet Crime Forum will continue to work in partnership to build upon the recommendations of this report to find effective solutions to combating danger to children on the Internet.