Safe Surfing with Paula Breuner by Wynn Free

In the United States, there are laws designed to keep pornography from being circulated without consent. But enforcement is rare, and in many countries child pornography laws don't even exist.

In April of this year, a law came into effect in Pennsylvania which makes it illegal for an Internet service provider to allow child porn to pass through its network. For repeat offenders, in addition to fines, there is a prison term (see ABCNews report). This is the first law of its kind, and it is still undergoing testing and challenges, but if it can be proven to work, perhaps it will be adopted by other states. If the market can be cut off, the supply will dwindle and, ultimately, fewer children will be victimized.

The most dangerous aspect of the Internet is its use by pedophiles. Predators use the Internet, posing as youngsters themselves, to communicate with other children, expose them to pornography, and arrange to meet them in person.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC, at MissingKids.com) reports that, according to the Youth Internet Safety Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five children ages 10 to 17 receive unwanted sexual solicitations online. This site is a powerful resource for parents wanting to keep their children safe.

We interviewed Paula Breuner, counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), about Internet laws and how to keep children from being subjected to objectionable material.

Wynn: Paula, what is CDT's purpose?

Paula: What CDT does is look for information and technological tools which can help families protect children from inappropriate material online. We help parents to be better informed, to understand what the technological tools are — the monitoring, filtering, and blocking software that exists to help them guide their child's Internet use.

We advocate promoting the strategies which parents can use to talk with their kids to teach them how to avoid bad stuff online. In other words, while they can't control what's on the Internet, they can control what comes into their own homes, and they can tailor it to suit their individual family values.

Wynn: How does someone avail themselves of the information you have?

Paula: The website they need to look at is GetNetWise.org. If you go to that site, what you'll find is a whole range of resources for families.

There's an online safety guide that gives parents the information as to what risks kids face online based on their age level and the kinds of activities they're engaging in. There are links to websites offering content particularly tailored to children. And there are tools for families to use: Internet safety products that filter explicit or violent content and monitor a child's Internet access.

There's also a resource that helps families figure out where to report trouble if their child does come upon inappropriate material, whether it's child pornography or some kind of online solicitation.

Wynn: Are filters effective?

Paula: Since no two families are alike in what's appropriate for their kids, no industry-created filter is going to be absolutely perfect for every family. In some cases they can over-block and keep children from information that would be appropriate for them. In other instances, they can under-block.

But, yes, we believe that when filters are used voluntarily by families they can be a very powerful tool to protect children online.

Wynn: How effective are the current laws against child pornography?

Paula: We believe that the current laws need to be strictly enforced. The ultimate victim is the child who's been involved in the creation of the pornography. And the best thing we can do is to enforce the laws we have as robustly as possible.

Wynn: Are they difficult to enforce?

Paula: There's always a question of resources. I do perceive that the present Justice Department sees this as being a very important problem to pursue.

Wynn: Is there a conflict between freedom of expression, First Amendment issues, art, and child porn?

Paula: We have, as a society, decided that child pornography is very wrong and that we're going to do what we need to do to enforce the laws against it.

I think the problem comes when you start talking about content which might be harmful to minors. And what someone in Alabama might see as being harmful to minors may not be harmful to minors in Manhattan.

The other thing to keep in mind is the issue of effectiveness. There was a report that came out from the National Research Council which found that the vast majority of material that is inappropriate for children is coming from overseas. No matter what kind of domestic laws are passed, those laws cannot be enforced against overseas websites.

So our goal is to help families protect themselves, to put the tools in the hands of families and help our children be smart online. That's the combination that will insure our kids have a positive experience online.