Congress Sees Web Safety Push
Cynthia Logan, whose 18-year-old daughter took her own life after a nude picture of her was passed around by e-mail, will join Miss Utah: Kayla Barclay; Internet safety expert Parry Aftab; and Mary Heston, director of Teenangels & Wired Moms on Wednesday for a Capitol Hill conversation about "sexting" (sending sexually charged messages or images via text message), cyber-bullying, and youth behavior on the online marketplace Craigslist.org and Internet gaming sites. Among other topics in the news, the panel will address whether charging teens as felony sex offenders for sharing nude pictures online is the right approach. Attendees will also preview the Stop Cyber-Bullying Toolkit for schools, a free resource with videos, animations, games, presentations and risk management guides for educators, parents and students of all ages.
The event coincides with the introduction of legislation by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., that would authorize $175 million in funding over five years to programs educating children on how to safely, securely and ethically use the Internet and mobile technologies. The bill would create a competitive grant program for state and local education agencies and non-profit organizations that would be administered by the Justice Department in collaboration with the departments of Health and Human Services and Education. "The way to meet the challenges and opportunities the Internet presents isn't to deny our children access to this great resource but to make sure they know how to use it wisely," Menendez said in a press release.
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