Report: Byron on Digital Literacy
DATE
27.MAR.2008
TITLE
Safer Children in a Digital World
AUTHOR
Dr. Tanya Byron
RESP
Launch by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (UK) subsequent to independent review commissioned by UK Prime Minister
FILES
Report, Release Site
Press Release excerpts:
Dr Byron concludes that while new technologies bring incredible opportunities to children and young people, parent’s general lack of confidence and awareness is leaving children vulnerable to risks within their digital worlds. Many parents seem to believe that when their child is online it is similar to them watching television – Dr Byron is keen to emphasize that in fact it is more like opening the front door and letting your child go outside to play, unsupervised. Digital world risks are similar to real world risks but can be enhanced by the anonymity and ubiquity that the online space brings.
In order to improve children’s on-line safety, Dr Byron makes a number of ground breaking recommendations including:
• The creation of a new UK Council for Child Internet Safety, established by and reporting to the Prime Minister, and including representation from across Government, industry, children’s charities and other key stakeholders including children, young people and parent panels.
• Challenging industry to take greater responsibility in supporting families through: establishing transparent and independently monitored codes of practice on areas such as user generated content; improving access to parental control software and safe search features; and better regulation of online advertising.
• Kick starting a comprehensive public information and awareness campaign on child internet safety across Government and industry, and which includes an authoritative ‘one stop shop’ on child internet safety.
• Setting in place sustainable education and children’s service initiatives to improve the skills of children and their parents around e-safety.
On video games, Dr Byron recommends a range of high profile and targeted efforts to help inform parents what games are right for their children, such as:
• Reforming the classification system for rating video games with one set of symbols on the front of all boxes which are the same as those for film.
• Lowering the statutory requirement to classify video games to 12+, so that it is the same as film classification and easier for parents to understand.
• Clear and consistent guidance for industry on how games should be advertised.
• Challenging industry to provide sustained and high profile efforts to increase parents understanding of age ratings and improved parental controls.
[…] This is meant to be reassuring but I find it anything but. In fact, I find the trend here to be very disquieting. There is a trajectory here from self-regulation via co-regulation towards external regulation - from the ISPAI’s self-regulation by the hotline and the IAB, via co-regulation agreed between the industry and the Department by the ISAC and OIS, towards external regulation threatened to be imposed by the Minister - and once we reach the destination of external regulation, there will be nothing to stop yet more regulation. Of course, some regulation is necessary (especially for children; see webwise.ie and Media Forum); but we must be wary of relying exclusively on it; it can go too far; and we should embrace other strategies, such as those suggested in the Byron review (the subject of my previous post; see also Media Forum). […]