July 30, 1999 Web posted at: 12:11 p.m. EDT (1611 GMT) by James Niccolai

From...

SAN FRANCISCO (IDG) -- If you're worried about what your 12-year-old is getting into on the Internet, help may be at hand.

Looking to quell concerns over children's safety on the Web, some of the largest Internet firms in the U.S. announced broad backing for a new Web site designed to educate parents about the worst of what the Internet has to offer, and suggest tips and software tools to help deal with it.

Called GetNetWise, the site gives parents the low-down on what many perceive to be online hazards for children, including pornographic content, hate speech Web sites and molesters who use the Internet to meet children. The site identifies about 80 software tools parents can use to help control and monitor Internet access, and offers other advice on how to make the online experience a more wholesome one.

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Officials from the largest companies active on the Internet, including America Online Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Disney Online, joined with a handful of nonprofits to talk up the venture at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today. The Internet firms all will provide links to GetNetWise from their Web portals, making the resource just "one click away" for 95 percent of Internet users, the officials said. The site can also be accessed at www.GetNetWise.com (link below).

"These resources have always been available, (and) they're getting more and more diverse. But they've never been made available at one site ... and they've never been made available at every entrance point to the Internet," said Jerry Berman, president of nonprofit group The Internet Education Foundation.

Berman's group managed the project and built the Web site, with AT&T Corp. and AOL acting as co-chairs, and financial support from dozens more companies and associations. Parents can identify links to the Web site by its blue and white logo, which features an adult's hand steering a child's smaller hand on a computer mouse.

The private sector increasingly has taken a lead to address privacy, security and other Net-related concerns, in part to keep the government from stepping in and passing laws to do so. About two months ago, U.S. lawmakers called on the industry to launch a resource that addresses child-safety issues, and GetNetWise is the result, Berman said.

Internet firms were quick to attach their names to the project today. Microsoft will link to GetNetWise from its highly trafficked home page and its MSN site, said Bob Herbold, Microsoft chief operating officer. Not to be outdone, Disney Online will feature a link to the site from "every page on the entire Web site," said Steve Wadsworth, president of Disney's BuenaVista Internet group. AT&T, Excite-At-Home Inc. and Yahoo Inc. announced similar plans to offer prominent links to the site.

The executives admitted that GetNetWise is only part of the answer to the issue of protecting kids online. "It's going to take education, adult supervision and technology to cope with the issues we're struggling with; all these are needed to ensure kids have a safe and educational online experience," Microsoft's Herbold said.

The Web site notes that in many cases, young people know more about the Web and computers than their parents or teachers. "If that's the case in your home or classroom, don't despair. You can use this as an opportunity to turn the tables by having your child teach you a thing or two about the Internet," the site advises.

GetNetWise suggests tools parents can use to limit access based on keywords or a Web site's address. Monitoring tools that track sites visited are another option. The site recommends that parents discuss the use of such tools with their son or daughter, but doesn't rule out a sly scroll through their history folder in Internet Explorer.

"Online activities that may be distasteful to almost anyone who cares about children may also be protected by free speech and other laws in the United States," the site notes. "Other Net activities -- like child pornography or the attempted luring of a child to a face-to-face meeting -- are illegal in many, but not all, countries."

The site also includes contact information for law enforcement groups so that parents can report content or activity they think may be illegal.

The site is geared primarily for parents in the U.S., although its content may be retuned in the future to address particular needs in other regions, a spokeswoman with the Internet Education Foundation said.