Internet Safety Technical Task Force Report Says Internet is Safe for Children Against On-Line Predators

The internet is not such a dangerous place for children and all the stories that we have heard regarding boogyman predators has been overstated. So says a reports from the Internet Safety Technical Task Force that concluded that the problem of bullying among children, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults.

That’s right parents, according to the Internet Safety Technical Task Force the internet is safe. Let your children run free on the web as on-line predators are not an issue. How foolish a conclusion could one possible come up with. It may be that bullying is up and phishing schemes against seniors are as well; however, to say that internet predators is an over blown issue is to be naive and a dangerous commentary on the safety of children in the 21st century. Do not think for one second that the internet is not full of pedophiles.

The panel, the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, was charged with examining the extent of the threats children face on social networks like MySpace and Facebook, amid widespread fears that adults were using these popular Web sites to deceive and prey on children.

But the report concluded that the problem of bullying among children, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults.

“This shows that social networks are not these horribly bad neighborhoods on the Internet,” said John Cardillo, chief executive of Sentinel Tech Holding, which maintains a sex offender database and was part of the task force. “Social networks are very much like real-world communities that are comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.”

Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general, who has helped form the task force adamantly disagrees with the reports findings. The down playing of internet predators is as misguided and foolish as one can possible imagine. Obviously, these people have spent no time under cover in chat rooms pretending to be 12 year old girls. Because we all know that convicted sex offenders never use MySpace.

Mr. Blumenthal said it “downplayed the predator threat,” relied on outdated research and failed to provide a specific plan for improving the safety of social networking.

“Children are solicited every day online,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Some fall prey, and the results are tragic. That harsh reality defies the statistical academic research underlying the report.”

In what social networks may view as something of an exoneration after years of pressure from law enforcement, the report said sites like MySpace and Facebook “do not appear to have increased the overall risk of solicitation.”