Recently the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act," was passed. As part of this law, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) has formed the "Online Safety and Technology Working Group." This group will report to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information on industry-implemented online child safety tools and efforts.

This will be a big picture look at the many types of parental controls that are availible and how/if they are effective in protecting kids from inappropriate content. This is not an easy task, specifically because technology is moving so fast and has integrated into our kids lives at many levels.

Here is a brief list of where parental controls can be found in our lives today:

• TV: V-Chip hardware built into TVs for broadcast television ratings based blocking  
• Cable TV: Providers like Comcast have controls built into cable boxes  
• Satellite TV: Much like cable, parental controls are built in  
• DVRs: Services like TiVO provide parental control tools  
• Video Game Consoles: Wii, X-Box, Playstation all provide different parental controls based on ESRB games ratings and online activities  
• Cell Phones and Mobile Devices: Some like iPod have parental control software on the phone, most others allow parents to control their children's accounts through a Web site  
• Computers: Newer Mac and Windows operating systems provide basic parental controls and filters. Desktop client filtering and parental control software is popular  
• Cars: yes, now your car offers the ability to lock how fast your child can go, how loud they can play the stereo and more
• Online Services and Applications: iTunes, Netflix and others provide the ability to block content or sales based on parental preferences  

As a parent, it is overwhelming to attempt to keep up with kids and the need to interact and set all these controls. As a recent study shows, even parents who want to actively be involved and set these controls, often do not set them up correctly. Global Consulting firm User Centric conducted a study on effectiveness of parental controls in electronic devices. 20 parents and 20 children were gathered, with the parents asked to set up parental controls and children asked to bypass them. Surprisingly, failure rates were high: 31% (DVR), 36% (mobile phone), 42% (V-Chip), 47% (game console). The study concluded, "Overall, User Centric found that: participants' lack of understanding about ratings compromised their ability to successfully set up parental controls and that parents may be more confident than they should be that the controls are properly set."

There seems to be a gap in parents understanding all the various ratings systems that many of these parental controls use as a basis for filtering or blocking content. Perhaps that is where the NTIA working group should start, reviewing and attempting to standardize a cross media ratings strategy that both kids and parents can understand.

Over the last month or so, we have seen a law in California about selling violent video games to minors being upheld as unconstitutional, as well as a veto by Gov. Hunstman of Utah Bill H.B. 353, which also sought to regulate the sale of violent games to minors. The defeat of these attempted measures has clearly left parents with the responsibility to be involved in their childrens video game purchases and playing.

In both of these cases, the voluntary rating system established by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was pointed to as a system that is already in place that helps retailers, parents and kids understand what content is found in a particular video game and why the rating has been applied to these games. Nearly 100% of video games sold through retailers today has the ESRB rating clearly printed on the packaging. Responsible parents should learn to use these ratings in the same way they have for movies using the voluntary movie ratings system.

Besides the well known ESRB ratings like E for Everyone, T for Teen, M for Mature, the ESRB goes into greater detail about the content found in the game by using 'Content Descriptors'. Here is a look at what categories these fall into:

• Alcohol Reference - Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages   
• Animated Blood - Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood    
• Blood - Depictions of blood    
• Blood and Gore - Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts    
• Cartoon Violence - Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted    
• Comic Mischief - Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor  Crude Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “bathroom” humor    
• Drug Reference - Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs    
• Fantasy Violence - Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations distinguishable from real life    
• Intense Violence - Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death    
• Language - Mild to moderate use of profanity    
• Lyrics - Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music    
• Mature Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references    
• Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity    
• Partial Nudity - Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity    
• Real Gambling - Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency
• Sexual Content - Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including partial nudity
• Sexual Themes - References to sex or sexuality    
• Sexual Violence - Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts    
• Simulated Gambling - Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency    
• Strong Language - Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity    
• Strong Lyrics - Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use in music    
• Strong Sexual Content - Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity    
• Suggestive Themes - Mild provocative references or materials    
• Tobacco Reference - Reference to and/or images of tobacco products    
• Use of Drugs - The consumption or use of illegal drugs    
• Use of Alcohol - The consumption of alcoholic beverages    
• Use of Tobacco - The consumption of tobacco products    
• Violence - Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment    
• Violent References - References to violent acts

These detailed breakdowns of what a consumer can expect to find in a game are a great tool to help parents make decisions on not only if a games rating is appropriate, but why it is rated for that age.

Parents should also use valuable video game reviews at Web sites like:

What They Play
GamerDad: Gaming With Children
Common Sense Media

In attempting to help parent manage these game playing decisions, Net Nanny is proud to be the first parental control software solution to set age-based gaming restrictions using the ESRB rating system and the first to block desktop PC games based on the above content descriptors.



This new feature is continuing to involve and improve as Net Nanny is continually updated, as always your feedback on this new feature is valued and appreciated. You can leave a comment or send us an email here.

When I speak with parents and teachers about the online phenomena that is cyberbullying, the same question is asked again and again. "What is cyberbullying and how do I know if my child is involved in it?"

While the defintition of cyerbullying is easy, the answer is not.

Cyberbullying.us defines cyberbullying as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text." While this holds true for the early online technologies like instant messaging, forum boards and chat, this definition has now been broadened to include images, video, audio and other technologies that teens and tweens are using.

A recent trend in cyberbullying is "sexting". Sexting is the electronic exchange of suggestive photos, mostly taken and sent via cell phone. This is a new and alarming issue that needs to be tackled fast and head on. Roughly 20 percent of teens admit to participating in "sexting," according to a nationwide survey (pdf) by the National Campaign to Support Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. 

This particular type of cyberbullying snares many victims in it's trap. If those involved are under 18, it's child pornography, and even the girl that posted the pictures can be charged with a federal crime. Sending or sharing the photo to anyone under 18 is also a crime, disseminating pornography to a minor. There is also a very good chance at being labeled a sex offender. At such young ages, those involved in this heinous act don't understand the consequences. But if you think that these crimes are the worst consequence, think again.

The loss of a life due to this type of behavior is the ultimate price that is paid. If you want to know the true effect that hitting that send button and transmitting that inappropriate photo on your phone to a boyfriend or girlfriend has, simply ask Cynthia Logan.

Cynthia Logan's daughter, Jessica Logan took her own life as a result of a nude photo she had sent to her boyfriend. When the couple broke up, the boyfriend forwarded the photo to a group of girls at the same school. These girls "attacked and tortured" Jessica at school regularly, according to Cynthia Logan. The school was not properly equipped to deal with this type of problem and did not take sufficient measures to prevent the harassment.

Because cell phone cameras are so ubiquitous and the current trend of social networking is very integral in the lives of today's youth, this frightening trend is on the rise. Parents and educators now more than ever need to get involved and educate their children about safety and consequences in using everyday technologies, be it on the computer, video game console or cell phone.