How to make the web safe for kids

The European Union (EU) has adopted a new Safer Internet Programme, which will be in place as of 1 January 2009 aimed at making the web a safer place for kids.

To support the programme, the EU has announced funding of €55m over five years. This will cover initiatives to raise public awareness and promote a safer online environment, as well as prevent harmful content from being posted on the web.

According to the EU's budget breakdown, 66 per cent or €36.3m of the overall cash pot will be spent on education and promoting a safer web for kids, while the remaining €18.7m will go on tackling harmful content.

The EU also highlighted new research from Eurobarometer, which revealed that three quarters of six- to 17-year olds use the internet, while half of 10-year-olds have a mobile phone.

However, despite kids being comfortable with technology, their parents don't appear to feel the same. The study found that more than half of parents are concerned that their offspring will be the victim of online grooming or cyber bullying. In response, the majority of parents said they did not allow their kids to give out personal details or talk to strangers on the web.

What's worrying about the study is that 41 per cent of parents also admitted they don't use any kind of web filtering or monitoring software - so it's hard to work out how they stop their children from giving out their name, age and other details online, or from chatting to strangers. About two thirds of those not using any filtering tools said this was because they trusted their children, while 14 per cent said they don't know how to get hold of or use monitoring software.

Hopefully part of the €55m funding will trickle down into practical sessions for parents on the many available web filtering tools, how they work and where they can be downloaded or purchased from - and also a useful lesson in cynicism as I'm sure lots of the kids reassuring their parents that they don't give out any personal details or chat to people they don't know online are doing exactly that.