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The Concern of Children's Safety on the Internet

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The Concern of Children's Safety on the Internet

During the last decade, the number of households using the Internet has increased dramatically. The United States Department of Defense started to use a network similar to today's Internet in the 1960s. Professors in universities all across the country later followed this idea and established their own system. The World Wide Web, the common, everyday section of the Internet, started approximately a decade ago. "Surfing the Web" has become easier since its inception, and the number of users has skyrocketed into the millions (Department of Education).

Within the last couple of years, however, arguments have arisen concerning children's safety on the Internet. Contributing factors to some recent events have been traced to the Internet, and rules regulating Internet use have commenced at schools and libraries across the country. While this is happening, Congress has been trying to censor the Internet to protect juvenile users. Some organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, believe that such regulation of the Internet is a violation of free speech, a constitutional right. The Supreme Court made a 1997 decision to ban Internet censorship. Many risks, therefore, are still posed to any-including young-users of the Web. Congress defines the term child as "an individual under the age of 13" (United States. Cong. House). Areas of concerns for children's safety on the Internet range from personal identification to inappropriate sites to unsuitable chats, and organizations have started to present solutions to such problems.

One of the most publicized matters concerning children's safety on the Internet is the act of dispensing personal information. Included in this ...

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... http://www.parents.com/cgi-bin/…gruner1.

Komblum, Janet. "FTC, GeoCities settle on privacy." CNET News.com 13 Aug. 1998. 11 May 1999 http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,25258,00.html.

United States. Cong. House of Representatives. Child Online Protection Act. 7 Oct. 1998. 105th Cong. House Bill 3783. 25 Apr. 1999 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/…c1058dtKaf.

United States. Cong. Senate. Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999. 5 May 1999. 106th Cong. Senate Bill 254. 27 May 1999 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin…~c106gpCAQ5.

United States. Department of Education. Parents Guide to the Internet. Nov. 1997. 25 Apr. 1999 http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/index.html.

Winkler, Ira. "Protecting Your Children on the Internet." ZDNet TipZone. n.d. 25 Apr 1999 http://search.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/…single.html?Ueid=916789.
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