A (very) brief history of Internet safety

A (very) brief history of

US Internet safety Anne Collier

Co-DirectorConnectSafely.org

Internet safety lawsCDA – passed 1996, struck down in 1997 by U.S. Supreme Court in unanimous decision COPA – passed in 1998, immediately blocked by a federal court (only the beginning of its story)CIPA – became law in 2000; challenged in courts. Supreme Court upheld but modified CIPA in 2004.

Internet safety education• 1st five years (‘95-’00): No research,

law enforcement primary source, common sense

• 2nd five years: 1st national task force; research emerged, but misrepresented

• 3rd five years: Series of social-media panics

Decreased exposure to harm In the US, 2000-’10, children’s exposure to online

pornography declined 12% Declines in nearly all youth social problems in US:

EU Kids Online: Risk vs. harm

US’s social-media technopanic

2008 ‘Berkman’national task forceReview of youth-risk research:Harassment & cyberbullying =

most common riskNot all youth are equally at risk A child’s psychosocial makeup & environment

are better predictors of online risk than the technology he or she uses

No single technological development can solve youth online risk

“Promote digital citizenship in pre-K-12 education as a national priority.”

– Youth Safety on a Living Internet:Report of the Online Safety & Technology Working Group

Our report to Congress, June 2010...

Thank you!Anne Collier

anne@connectsafely.org