UGC sites should take the lead in child safety

20 November 2008

The recent launch of The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UK Council for Child Internet Safety launches today; nma.co.uk 29 September) is a positive step forwards in the ongoing battle to protect children online. I’m in full support of plans for a voluntary code of practice for user-generated content sites and am pleased to see some action is being taken at last to deal with this growing problem.

However, I don’t believe enacting laws for the industry is the way forward. The onus should be on the individual sites to act responsibly. Legislation is not a quick-fix solution as it could take years to start seeing results by which time the damage could already have been done. UGC sites can make their chat rooms safer for children in a number of ways, including designing a robust registration process, not allowing private chat functions in child-friendly rooms and implementing human moderation at all times.

It is, of course, important for websites to take control and make sure children aren’t at risk, but I also believe the UK Council for Child Internet Safety will play an important role in highlighting to parents the potential risks involved in allowing their children to use the internet. If all parties concerned work together in a proactive and responsible way, then this new watchdog should be a success in helping to keep our children safer.