Our aim is to help parents to catch up with their children's web-exploits, so that they can offer much needed advice and protection. This net-aware generation does not like to report any problems they find to their parents or teachers, fearing they might lose the chance to surf. But one in five children reported when asked, that they had seen something rude or upsetting. Parents need to know there are bodies to report to. The UK is developing quality marks for the internet.
More regulation is needed for the commercial side of the Internet too.
An alcohol advert recently found its way onto a children s site, there is tobacco advertising, market research companies are collecting information on children and their families without proper privacy warnings, and it is all too easy for children to key their parent's credit card details onto the net. Because companies on the net come from anywhere in the world, the EU is negotiating for us on so called E. Commerce. As so often, solutions are likely to come from an EU-US agreement. Thanks to that vision, US consumer organisations are now campaigning vociferously alongside EU ones on labelling and segregation of GMOs as well as on E-commerce. And the two movements are pressing too, for better access for developing country imports and action on agricultural dumping to help poor third world farmers and low income Western consumers.