Government launches UK Council for Child Internet Safety

The Government launched the new UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) on September 29, 2008, to oversee and coordinate the work of public and private sector organisations in delivering the recommendations from Dr Tanya Byron’s report Safer Children in a Digital World which was published in March 2008.

The Council will report directly to the Prime Minister by bringing together a wide range of subject matter experts to develop a child Internet safety strategy. It is expected that their work will improve the regulation and education surrounding Internet use, tackling problems such as online bullying, introducing safer search features, and the impact of violent video games. This strategy is due for launch by early next year.

The key features of the strategy will be to:

• Establish a comprehensive public information and awareness and child Internet safety campaign across government and industry, including a ‘one-stop shop’ on child Internet safety.
• Provide specific measures to support vulnerable children and young people, such as taking down illegal Internet sites that promote harmful behaviour;.
• Promote responsible advertising to children online.
• Establish voluntary codes of practice for user-generated content sites, making such sites commit to take down inappropriate content within a given time.

More details regarding the strategy can be found at http:// www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0215 and the full Byron report is to be found at http:// www.dcsf.gov.uk/byronreview/