As an Internet Safety expert, I can state one thing categorically: “Pornography is rampant on the Internet and just like no one is really stopping the tobacco industry, no one is doing anything about online pornography.”

They can do all the press releases they want, however, until someone really takes action, it is here to stay.

So, get used to tobacco and pornography — forever.

The only solution that works in the real world is to educate and be responsible.

The white list approach is an interesting one, but an extremely challenging one to maintain. How do you manage a list of safe sites, while still optimizing the user experience in an environment as dynamic as the Internet? Seems a bit crazy. Also, if we are to take advantage of the Web 2.0 properties of the Internet (social networks, communities, peer-to-peer exchanges, etc.), then you have to block people as well as sites, which is infinitely more challenging. Then again, maybe the user experience of a three year-old doesn’t matter that much. How old do you have to be before Web 2.0 becomes important? Is there a digital equivalent of the neighborhood playground or do you have to graduate to social networking when you’re past your kiddie years?

When did creating avatars become an example of an “interesting feature?”

A white-list can’t work. No amount of distributed, volunteer effort will be able to cover a per cent of the sites on the internet. New web sites are being created faster than they can be reviewed. More troubling to an initiative like this, there’s a market for people to build a web site, attract a reputation to it, and then sell the thing. Which means a previously acceptable web site may stop being acceptable…

Blocking pornography websites for children is a difficult process. In the end, it is so important that parents and guardians recognize the dangers of pornography not just on children, but on people in general.

Have you ever heard of accountability software? Accountability software is specifically for adults who want to guard where they go online without any blocking or filtering. Combined with filtering, it’s a great Internet safety solution for the whole family. If you want more info about it check out my post “Is Filtering All There Is?” – http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/06/12/is-filtering-all-there-is-introducing-accountability-software/

[...] the world together to make it a better place to live. Ken Leebow wrote an interesting comment on my blog post a few months back suggesting that, education is the most effective way to protect us. It was in [...]