The Week in Online Safety, June 20, 2011

The Week in Online Safety, June 20, 2011
A weekly global view of online safety news, policy developments, research, and influence

News
The debate on how to address the use of social networks by minors continued last week, and an article in ZDNet asked, “Is Facebook's 'under-13' policy viable?”  Video gaming safety was also in the news, with Tech News Daily reporting on research suggesting that “Relaxing Video Games May Calm Players in Real Life,”   while the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of a California law restricting violent video games very soon.  

Policy – Legislative, Regulatory, and Legal Developments
Social networks were the focus of proposed regulation aimed at protecting minors in the United States, the European Union, and Australia.  In the U.S., The Washington Post reports “Lawmakers, advocates push social networks for more protection of youngest users,” and discusses the issues around verifying the ages of minors online.  In Europe, the European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee published a report on data protection stating that “Children using social networks must be protected,” and Mobiledia reports “Australian Parliament to Consider Social Media Parental Controls.” 

Several states either enacted or advanced legislation to address cyberbullying.  Tennessee enacted a pair of statutes:  HB 300 adds electronic communications to existing anti-harassment statutes, and HB 301 allows schools to discipline students for online harassment.  The Knoxville News reports on both measures.  In Rhode Island, S 732, which would create a single, statewide policy for cyberbullying, was sent to the governor; and in New York S 4921, which would expand the definition of school bullying to include cyberbullying, was passed by the Senate, and referred to the Assembly, The Legislative Gazette reports. 

Research
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop released a new study, “Families Matter: Designing media for a digital age.” The study shows the “Results from a survey of more than 800 parents of children ages 3 through 10 reveal how parents nationwide feel about raising children in a digital age.”  Net Family News gives some analysis. 

Influencers
Justin Patchin & Sameer Hinduja of the Cyberbullying Research Center announced the publication of their new book, Cyberbullying Prevention and Response: Expert Perspectives , the book will be available June 24, and features expert perspectives on law, education, therapy, and other issues.   

Several advocacy groups announced new initiatives for Internet Safety Month in the United States.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released a “New Game that Teaches Kids How to Stay Safe on the Internet,” and Enough is Enough released “Summer Cyber Safety Made Simple.”  

Finally, Anne Collier of Net Family News commented on “The teen sexting ‘trainwreck’ & state laws.” 

Compiled by David Burt.