Children are at a far greater risk of being sexually abused by a relative than by someone they meet online. And if it's pornography you're worried about, check out your local bookstore or magazine stand. I'm far more worried about the Net's potential commercial impact on children. True, most Web sites are aimed at adults, but cereal makers, toy vendors, and other companies with a stake in the booming kids' market are going online. There's nothing wrong with that.
Online advertising directed at kids can have even greater impact than TV, radio, or print ads.
Any child who fills out an online profile with his or her name, age, gender, and other data could easily be involved in a direct, almost personal, relationship with advertisers and the characters they use to hawk their products. That might be fun, but companies can use those characters to solicit data and dollars from children. But there is no such agency policing the Web. Only after pressure from critics did the tobacco giant admit its sponsorship. I'm sure we can all agree that kids shouldn't be encouraged to smoke.