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Issue no. 338 - 7 May 2005

• IT industry told to 'cough up' by child campaigners (Register)
  The IT industry should do more to protect kids online, according to campaigners, who believe that tech companies should spend dosh to create a global child protection organisation and use their expertise to regulate chat rooms and block the transmission of offensive images. Tighter regulation and increased education make up just part of a rack of proposals following the launch of the global make-IT-safe campaign . Thailand-based child-rights group ECPAT International and the UK's Children's Charities Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS) reckon that while the IT industry has done stacks to crack down on online fraud and spam, it has failed to invest the same amount of time and resource in combating child abuse. see also Safety urged for child web users.

• US - AOL Sued Over Claim Chat Room Monitor Seduced Girl (Reuters)
  A 19-year-old Los Angeles woman has sued AOL saying that a former monitor of its 'kids only' chat room seduced her online when she was a lonely teenager, persuading her to send him nude photos of herself and to engage in phone sex. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, also says that Matthew Wright sent sexually explicit videos of himself and planned to drive to California to meet the girl for a weekend together on her 17th birthday.

Issue no. 337 - 13 April 2005

• DE - Zwei Jahre neuer Jugendmedienschutz (Heise)
  Die Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM) berät in Erfurt ihren Zweijahresbericht. Mit der Anerkennung der Freiwilligen Selbstkontrolle Multimedia (FSM) Ende vergangenen Jahres hofft KJM-Präsident Wolf-Dieter Ring stärker auf die "Prophylaxe" bei den Internetanbietern. Ob die Selbstkontrolleinrichtung die versprochene Wirkung entfalten werde, müsse sich nun zeigen. KJM-Präsident Ring hält die internationale Auseinandersetzung über den Jugendschutz für eine wichtige Aufgabe der KJM. Ziel müsse es sein, einen Jugendschutz-Grundstandard in Europa und darüber hinaus durchzusetzen, so wie das in Ansätzen bei der Verfolgung von Kinderpornographie passiert sei.

Issue no. 336 - 3 April 2005

• AOL unveils blogging service for teens (CNET News.com)
  America Online has announced a new blogging service for teenagers. Red Blogs allows teenagers and parents to select the level of privacy they want for their online diaries; a private blog can be kept locked. A semiprivate blog is locked to all but those who are invited to read it. And a public blog allows access to anybody on the Net. However, blogs of younger teenagers, those between 13 and 15, will be locked from general public viewing. Similarly, with semiprivate blogs, parents must approve the list of people invited to read the journals of younger teenagers.

Issue no. 327 - 16 December 2004

• DE - Ministerin: Strengerer Jugendschutz fürs Fernsehen (Heise)
  Der Jugendschutz im Fernsehen muss strikter gehandhabt werden, sagte Bundesfamilienministerin Renate Schmidt (SPD) beim Festakt zum 50-jährigen Bestehen der Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (BPjM) in Bonn. Die Landesmedienanstalten sollten notfalls strenger gegen solche Sendungen vorgehen können, betonte die Ministerin. Schmidt wies auch auf einen neuen Filter für indizierte Internet-Angebote aus dem Ausland hin, der voraussichtlich im Februar 2005 zum Download zur Verfügung stehen wird.

Issue no. 326 - 5 December 2004

• UK - Game warnings 'should be clearer' (BBC)
  Violent video games should carry larger warnings so parents can understand what their children are playing, the trade and industry secretary has said. Patricia Hewitt is expected to call for the law banning the sale of 18-rated games to children to be enforced better at a games industry meeting. She is concerned too many children are playing games aimed at adults which include 'high levels of violence'. Her call was backed by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell who said: "You wouldn't let your child watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You wouldn't let them go to a strip club. So you shouldn't let them play an 18-rated game. It's the same principle - adults can make their own informed choices, but children can't always and need to be protected." Anyone convicted of selling an 18-rated game to a child can be jailed for six months and fined up to £5,000.

Issue no. 325 - 28 November 2004

• DE - Gewalt in Computerspielen, mehr Hitze als Licht (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
  Viel geredet, nichts geklärt: Die bleibt ein ungelöstes Problem.

• DE - Jugendexpertin: 40 Prozent der Kinder surfen regelmässig im Netz (dpa/lrs)
  Nicht nur Jugendliche und Erwachsene nutzen regelmässig das Internet, sondern auch Kinder. "Etwa 40 Prozent der 6- bis 13-Jährigen sind regelmässig im Netz unterwegs", sagte Christine Feil, Wissenschaftlerin am Deutschen Jugendinstitut am Donnerstag in Mainz. Beim 6. Forum Medienkompetenz in Rheinland-Pfalz diskutierten Fachleute über das Thema "Internet - Medienkompetenz - Schule". Kinder und Jugendliche seien fasziniert von "surfen" und "chatten" gerieten dabei aber auch schnell auf pornografische Seitenangebote.

Issue no. 324 - 21 November 2004

• UK - Why the web is not a safety net (BBC)
  We need to keep kids safe online, agrees technology analyst Bill Thompson, but we cannot just do what the children's charities want.

Issue no. 323 - 24 October 2004

• DE - Streit um den Kurs der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Heise)
  10 Monate nach ihrem Antrag auf Zulassung als Kontrollinstanz für den Jugendmedienschutz bei der KJM (Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz) wartet die Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle für Multimedia (FSM) nach wie vor auf einen Bescheid. Die Mitglieder der eigens an das Modell der so genannten "regulierten Selbstregulierung" angepassten Organisation seien durch die lange Verzögerung irritiert, sagte FSM-Geschäftsführerin Sabine Frank bei einer Diskussion zum Jugendmedienschutz auf den Münchner Medientagen. Solange die Zulassung ausstehe, tue sich die FSM auch schwer, weitere Mitglieder in der Internet-Branche zu gewinnen und damit dem Vorwurf der KJM zu begegnen, dass die Mitgliedschaft noch zu klein sei. Noch schwerer tut sich die KJM außerdem mit einer Zulassung der Internet-Filtersoftware ICRA. Den Antrag auf Pilotzulassung hat die FSM gemeinsam mit mehreren Partnern bereits vor einigen Monaten beantragt.

• NZ - Call for tighter chatroom controls (tvnz.co.nz)
  An internet safety group is calling for the government to introduce tight controls on internet and cell phone chat rooms after revelations paedophiles were preying on children through phone texting. Vodafone shut down its mobile phone chatroom for children after discovering paedophiles were trying to meet and potentially have sex with them. The men have been lying about their age on the chatroom, called Teenzone, and there are no safeguards to stop them doing so. Director of the Internet Safety Group Liz Butterfield says children can put themselves in quite serious situations through chatrooms on cell phones and the internet.

Issue no. 321 - 10 October 2004

• US - VeriSign creates kid credentials (Reuters)
  VeriSign and i-Safe America, a children's safety group, have unveiled a new technology designed to make it easier for children to avoid child predators online. The i-Stik token, inserted in a computer's USB port, provides verification of a child's age and gender. Chatroom lurkers who can't prove their age will stick out like sore thumbs as more kids adopt the tokens. Network security company VeriSign created the token, which is also used to verify the identity of people logging on to corporate networks.

Issue no. 320 - 25 September 2004

• UK - Mobiles to let parents keep a track on children (Guardian)
  Parents worried about where their children are will be able to check up on them using technology that can locate their mobile phones, under new industry guidelines. The code of practice has been drawn up by the five British mobile networks in conjunction with the Home Office, police and children's charities. Under the guidelines, the phone being traced receives regular text messages reminding the user that he or she can be tracked. Unlike a similar scheme in Finland where children under the age of 14 have no right to cancel the service, British children will be able to opt out of being located by their parents. The service also stops working if the handset is switched off.

• UK - PM backs violent game inquiry (BBC)
  The prime minister has told parliament a violent video game - blamed by some for the death of a Leicester boy - should not be used by children. Mr Blair said responsible adults had the right to choose what they watched, but children needed to be protected. He agreed to discuss with Home Secretary David Blunkett what action could be taken to combat the problem.

Issue no. 316 - 1 August 2004

• UK - Children 'able to gamble on net' (BBC)
  Children as young as 11 are able to gamble online, according to a new report. They are able to do so because of failures by a number of websites to carry out proper age checks. The vast majority of sites tested by children's charity NCH allowed under 18-year-olds to register their details, the report found. The charity is now urging gambling websites to apply stringent age verification software. A 16-year-old girl was asked by the charity to attempt to register with around 37 UK gambling websites. She claimed she was 21 and gave her Solo debit card details. As a result, the teenager was able to register her details with 30 UK websites and she would have been able to place bets. see also Schoolgirl tests online gambling (BBC), UK bookies blamed for underage gambling and Will's Web Watch: 'Kids are gambling... quick, blame the web!' (silicon.com).

• US - Using the Web to Sound an Alarm on Missing Children (New York Times)
  A new Internet-based system for issuing child-abduction alerts is being introduced in 13 states this summer and is expected to be adopted by more states soon. The system is intended to speed the process and get the alerts out to more people, including ordinary citizens who can receive text messages on their cellphones.

Issue no. 315 - 18 July 2004

• Jugendmedienschützer beanstanden 250 Webseiten (Heise)
  Die Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM) hat eine erste, seit längerem angekündigte Bilanz über die Zahl beanstandeter Webseiten im Internet veröffentlicht. Bei 250 von 275 geprüften Webseiten stellten die 60 Prüfgruppen der KJM Verstöße gegen den im April 2003 in Kraft getretenen neuen Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag fest.

• UK - Call for mobile tracking controls (BBC)
  A coalition of children's charities has urged the UK government to set strict controls on services that let parents track their children by their mobiles. The Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (Chis) presented their case outlining their concerns to MPs. Chis' John Carr said it was vital that mobile companies were legally bound to confirm who signed up to the services. The coalition is worried that as more firms offer the services a lack of legal safeguards could mean tracking facilities get into the wrong hands. 'It is a classic example of a technology-led solution where it should have been child safety-led,' John Carr, NCH's technology advisor and Chis spokesperson told BBC News Online.

Issue no. 314 - 24 June 2004

• EU - Commission adopts the Daphne II work programme for 2004 (RAPID)
  The European Commission has adopted the Annual Plan of Work 2004 of the Daphne II programme (2004-2008) to prevent or to combat all types of violence against children, young people and women and to protect the victims and groups at-risk. It resumes the actions carried out for seven years, 1997-2003, where 303 projects were funded for a total of EUR 33 million. Two different calls for proposals will be published each year : one for specific projects (as in the previous Daphne programme) and one for projects aiming at the dissemination and the use of existing results.

• Ireland Leery of 3G Phones (Wired)
  While most consumers see third-generation mobile phones as a boon, the Irish government sees them as tools of pedophiles and is taking steps to track purchases of the new phones. The Irish government will establish a National Register for 3G mobile phones in a bid to protect minors. Critics say the plan is a lot of work for little effect, and that it erodes civil liberties.

Issue no. 313 - 13 June 2004

• ES - Alarm bells over anorexia and bulimia Internet sites (AFP)
  Child protection groups in Spain called on the government to take action against Internet web sites that encourage young girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia to celebrate and hide their condition.The call comes after a six-month inquiry carried out by child protection group Protect Them which revealed the existence of about 30 chat room sites in Spanish in which youngsters exchanged tips on how to hide their condition from their parents.

• Mobile porn is a 'time bomb' (electricnews.net)
  European mobile phone firms must act to ensure that adult content reaches only adults, a research company warns. Mobile operators face a backlash over adult content if they are unable to balance lucrative revenues with legitimate parental anxieties, according to a report from research company Current Analysis. The warning comes as visual advances in mobile handset technology have led to the widespread introduction of mobile devices capable of taking pictures, videos and watching short video clips and films.

Issue no. 310 - 16 May 2004

• AU - New measures to make internet and mobile use safer (Press Release)
  The Australian Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts has directed the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to put in place new measures to protect mobile phone users from offensive content and to restrict access to adult services available on premium mobile services. He has tabled the findings of the Review of the Operation of Schedule 5 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, relating to online content. And, in response to findings from that review, he has asked the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) to undertake a further review of the regulation of content delivered to convergent mobile communications devices, such as 3G mobiles. See A review of Schedule 5 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, Online content review report (PDF 3555KB), Ovum report - Internet filtering (RTF 885kb), Ovum report - live media streaming (RTF 799kb), Australian Communications Authority (Service Provider Determination) Direction 2004 (No. 2) (PDF 408KB), Review Of The Regulation Of Content Delivered Over Convergent Devices. See also ACA warns telcos of mobile adult content fines (ZDNet Australia) .

• EU - Daphne II programme (Eur-Lex)
  Decision No 803/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 adopting a programme of Community action (2004 to 2008) to prevent and combat violence against children, young people and women and to protect victims and groups at risk (the Daphne II programme) OJ L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 1

• UK - Children suffer from deluge of porn spam (Guardian)
  Schoolchildren as young as five are being sent hundreds of pornographic emails every week and the problem is getting worse, according to a company brought in to filter out unwanted spam from school email accounts. Eight out of 10 of the thousands of emails received every day to school email addresses are unwanted spam, and over half of those contain pornographic content, according to filtering company Email Systems.

Issue no. 309 - 9 May 2004

• Choices: Teens and Buddy Lists (Washington Post)
  It's 3:30 p.m. Do you know who your kid is Instant Messaging online? In some households IMing can be as intense as any telephone obsession adults may remember from their middle school and teen years. At least back then the phone was easier to monitor. This week's Choices column, Buddy Lists and Mixed Messages, examines the Internet-age phenomenon of kids and buddy lists and why parents have yet another area of their childrens' lives to monitor.

• EU - Commission proposes new Recommendation on protection of minors and human dignity (RAPID)
  The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of minors and human dignity and the right of reply in the European audiovisual and information services industry. This Recommandation is a follow-up to the second evaluation report of 12 December 2003 on the 1998 Recommendation of the Council on the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services. Viviane Reding, European Commissioner in charge of Education, Culture and Audiovisual, said: "The new Recommendation builds upon the original 1998 Recommendation, which remains valid. The proposal addresses questions of media literacy (e. g. media education programmes), the cooperation and the sharing of experience and good practices between self-, co- and regulatory bodies, which deal with the rating or classification of audiovisual content and action against discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in all media, and the right of reply in a cross media approach."

Issue no. 308 - 2 May 2004

• DE - Jugendschützer nehmen das Internet ins Visier (Heise)
  Die Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (BPjM) kontrolliert zunehmend mehr Videofilme, Tonträger oder Internetseiten auf bedenkliche Inhalte. Das sagte die BPjM-Vorsitzende Elke Monssen-Engberding bei der Jahrestagung der Prüfstelle auf einer Tagung in Würzburg. Auf der Basis des neuen Jugendschutzgesetzes können neben Jugendämtern jetzt auch anerkannte Träger der freien Jugendhilfe wie der Kinderschutzbund oder kirchliche Jugendorganisationen gewaltverherrlichende oder pornographische Medien bei der Prüfstelle beanstanden.

Issue no. 307 - 25 April 2004

• Amateurs need not apply (Guardian)
  by John Carr. Dealing with child pornography, child sex abusers, or with the victims of child sex abuse, is no place for amateurs. The newspapers were recently full of stories about Stephen King, who appeared as an "expert witness" in in court cases about child sex abuse. Following a routine police investigation into benefit fraud, he was found to be in possession of child pornography. This in turn led to the discovery that he had been sexually abusing three 10-year-old girls, for which he was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. On another tack, Jim Wightman hit the headlines when he claimed to have invented software that could detect paedophile behaviour in online chat rooms. No one has ever seen a working version of his software. His website www.chatnannies.com has a section specially addressed to paedophiles. It tells them that "none of us can help what we are and are not attracted to sexually" and says that paedophiles are invited to speak to Chatnannies on a confidential basis. see also Concern at website that 'monitors paedophiles' and Nanniebots and Neverland.

• AU - Porn link to young sex offenders (Sydney Mornin Herald)
  Internet service providers should be made to filter online content because sexual assaults perpetrated by children are increasing, an internet media and mental health conference in Brisbane will be told. Michael Flood, a research fellow at the Australia Institute, a public policy think-tank, says little has been done to protect children from exposure to violent and extreme pornography. Recent findings suggest exposure to such material - even accidental - may be linked to a rise in the numbers of children sexually abusing other children. Exposure could be prevented by requiring all Australian internet service providers (ISPs) to filter their content, he said, with adults able to opt out of filterings to receive explicit material.

Issue no. 302 - 15 February 2004

• FR - Les enfants du Net : Recommandation du Forum des droits sur l'internet (Communiqué de presse)
  Recommandation du Forum des droits sur l'internet : Les Enfants du Net - (1) Les mineurs et les contenus préjudiciables sur l'internet. Rapport remis à Christian Jacob, Ministre délégué à la Famille, dans le cadre du Conseil Consultatif de l'internet placé auprès de Claudie Haigneré, Ministre déléguée à la Recherche et aux Nouvelles technologies. Publiée le 11 février 2004, cette recommandation est le fruit de plusieurs mois de concertation d'un groupe de travail constitué de représentants d'administrations, d'associations d'utilisateurs et d'acteurs économiques concernés. FR - Installation du Conseil Consultatif de l'Internet: la protection des mineurs

• UK - Net abuse victims need justice review, warns charity (Guardian)
  Child protection must be reviewed in order to help the victims of internet paedophilia because traditional policies and practices could distress them further, the children's charity Barnardo's said. The charity warned that the use of video cameras during police interviews and court proceedings could remind children, who have been forced to pose for child abuse images posted on the internet, of their ordeal. see also Just One Click from abuse. see also Punish online customers like abusers, conference urged.

• UK - Online victims 'need help centre' (BBC)
  A children's charity says more needs to be done to help children who've had nasty experiences on the net. Barnardo's wants the government to establish a centre staffed by people who are trained to deal with the problems caused by modern technology. They would be able to help kids with a variety of issues - from being misled in chatrooms to child abuse.

Issue no. 300 - 1 February 2004

• UK - Phone firms wrestle with porn dilemma (BBC)
  Pornography and other adult services are creating big problems for many mobile phone firms. Operators are struggling to find ways to stop children and others accidentally stumbling across adult content but they also want to make it easy for those that want to pay for porn to get at it. Phone firms, industry analysts and mobile content creators are meeting at a conference in London to debate the ways in which operators can strike this balance. see Delivering Mobile Adult Content Responsibly. see also UK code of practice for the self-regulation of new forms of content on mobiles, UK Carriers Tackle Content (Unstrung) Finding a Balance on Adult Content (The Feature);

Issue no. 299 - 24 January 2004

• JP - No late-night Internet cafes for Tokyo teens (Straits Times)
  An advisory panel to Tokyo's governor has proposed that the city ban teenagers under 18 from visiting karaoke parlours and Internet cafes late at night in a bid to cut down on juvenile delinquency. The panel, set up to advise Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, also urged curbs on the sale of teenage girls' used underwear and proposed requiring vending machines to be programmed to prevent minors from buying pornography.

• UK Mobile Operators announce joint code of practice for new forms of content (T-Mobile)
  The UK mobile phone operators announced a joint code of practice for the self-regulation of new forms of content on mobile phones. Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone and 3, have all signed up to the code designed to facilitate the responsible use of new mobile phone services whilst safeguarding children from unsuitable content on their mobile phones. As mobile technology advances, phones are being developed with enhanced features, such as colour screens, video and picture messaging and Internet browsers, allowing access to an increasing variety of services. The vast majority of commercial content is suitable for customers of all ages. However, some of the new services may contain content of an adult nature, which is only suitable for customers who are over 18 years of age. All commercial content unsuitable for customers under 18 will be classified "18". Such content will not be made available to customers until the networks, through a process of age verification, are satisfied that he or she is at least 18. The classification framework will be in line with comparable standards in other media and will be created by a body that is independent of the mobile operators. Chat rooms made available to customers under 18 will be moderated (ie monitored to guard against inappropriate use). Parents and carers will be able to apply filters to the mobile operator’s Internet access service so that the Internet content thus accessible is restricted. see also UK - Mobile phone firms act to protect children (Guardian) UK - Children to be shielded from abuse via mobiles

Issue no. 297 - 11 January 2004

• UK - Seeing is believing (Guardian)
  The question of whether children mimic violent images they watch on television has been debated for decades. But now, says Robert Winston, he has witnessed an experiment that finally proves they do.

Issue no. 295 - 21 December 2003

• Protection of minors: European Commission to propose improved framework (RAPID)
  The European Commission has just adopted a new evaluation report on the September 1998 Council Recommendation concerning the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services. The report analyses the measures adopted in the Member States and at EU level since the year 2000. Commissioner Reding, Member States and other interested parties have been expressing concerns for several years on the high level of violence in some media. Accordingly, and in order to be able to keep up with the challenges which technological developments bring, the Commission intends to follow up on this evaluation report by proposing an update of the Recommendation during the first quarter of 2004. "

Issue no. 294 - 14 December 2003

• US - 6th Annual Video and Computer Game Report Card (National Institute on Media and the Family)
  This MediaWise Video Game Report Card is the eighth issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family, an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, non-profit organization. The Report Card provides a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry with a focus on issues related to child welfare.

Issue no. 293 - 7 December 2003

• AU - Net helps children start sex attacks (Sydney Morning Herald)
  Internet pornography was helping to spawn a new generation of sexual predators as young as six, child protection experts warned. There had been an alarming increase in children under 10 sexually abusing other children over the past few years, most of whom had used the internet specifically to browse porn sites. Cassandra Tinning presented research on the issue of child protection and the internet on behalf of the the Child At Risk Assessment Unit based at Canberra Hospital, with Dr Janet Stanley and Katie Kovacs from the National Child Protection Clearing House, at the Ninth Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. Ms Kovacs said internet pornography was worse than X-rated videos, for example, because it was "a lot more deviant and extreme, violent and showing rape and other other non-consensual sex".

• DE - Jugendmedienschutz im Internet: Deutsche setzen zu sehr auf Verbote (Heise)
  Der im April eingeführte Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag (JMStV) widerspricht in Teilen dem Zensurverbot des Artikels 5 Grundgesetz: Diese harte Kritik an dem neuen Gesetzeswerk übte bei einer Veranstaltung der Saarländischen Landesmedienanstalt (LMS) und des Europäischen Instituts für Medienrecht (EMR) zu Pornografie im Pocketformat der Leipziger Juraprofessor Heribert Schumann.

• DE - Keine LAN-Partys mehr an bayerischen Schulen (Heise)
  Bayerische Schulen sind angewiesen, ihre Räumlichkeiten, wie beispielsweise Turnhallen, nicht mehr für LAN-Partys zur Verfügung zu stellen. Staatsministerin Monika Hohlmeier hat alle bayerischen Schulleiterinnen und Schulleiter 'eindringlich darum gebeten', keine LAN-Parties in schulischen Räumen mehr durchführen zu lassen. Die Ministerin habe 'insbesondere darauf hingewiesen, dass es im Rahmen von LAN-Parties generell zu gesundheitlichen Beeinträchtigungen bei einem stundenlangen Verweilen vor Bildschirmen und permanenter Beschallung sowie zu anderen, den schulischen Bildungs- und Erziehungsauftrag negativ beeinflussenden Begleiterscheinungen' kommen könne. Ausdrücklich festgestellt habe die Ministerin zudem, dass 'Gewalt verherrlichende, aber auch die Menschenwürde verletzende oder das Geschlecht betonende Computerspiele in den Schulen oder bei schulischen Veranstaltungen innerhalb wie außerhalb der schulischen Räumlichkeiten' verboten seien.

Issue no. 292 - 23 November 2003

• DE - Muskelspiele im deutschen Online-Jugendschutz (Heise)
  von Monika Ermert. Die Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz droht erste Verfahren gegen Pornoanbieter an. Sie habe bei verschiedenen geprüften Internet-Angeboten 'erhebliche Verstöße gegen die Bestimmungen des Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrags (JMStV) festgestellt'. Die Kommission will vor allem Angebote abmahnen, die keine ausreichende Altersverifikation vorschalten. Die KJM fordert eine persönliche Authentifizierung. In einem Fall wirft sie einem Anbieter vor, Jugendliche in 'unnatürlich geschlechtsbetonter Körperhaltung' darzustellen. DE - KJM geht gegen unzulässige Internetangebote vor (Pressemitteilung) (KJM) und DE - Verschlusssache Jugendschutz (Frankfurter Rundschau) von Monika Ermert.

• UK - Young pretenders (Guardian)
  There was a time when a youngster's access to pornography was limited to finding damp stashes of magazines in the woods behind his house. Not any more. Now, as Kids on Porn (Channel 4) made apparent, it's all websites, DVDs and free 10-minute previews on cable television.

Issue no. 291 - 15 November 2003

• SG - Singapore calls for global Internet chatroom crackdown (AFP)
  Singapore urged Internet access providers to follow Microsoft's lead in clamping down on unregulated chatrooms to prevent them from becoming havens for sex predators. Information and Communications Minister Lee Boon Yang told parliament the government was concerned over the impact the abuse of Internet chatrooms was having on the high-tech city-state.

Issue no. 289 - 26 October 2003

• DE - DLM: Entscheidung zu Porno-TV vertagt (Digital TV)
  Die Direktorenkonferenz der Landesmedienanstalten (DLM) hat ihre Beratungen zur Abgrenzung von Rundfunk und Mediendiensten fortgesetzt. Aktueller Anlass der Diskussion um die Abgrenzung sind mehrere den Landesmedienanstalten vorliegende Anträge auf medienrechtliche Unbedenklichkeit. Über verschiedene Verbreitungswege wie beispielsweise DSL, Breitbandkabel oder Satellit sollen zum Teil pornografische Inhalte verbreitet werden. Im Rundfunk sind pornografische Inhalte nicht erlaubt. In Mediendiensten dagegen dürfen diese Inhalte nach dem Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag dann verbreitet werden, wenn sichergestellt ist, dass sie allein Erwachsenen in geschlossenen Benutzergruppen zur Verfügung stehen. Entsprechend haben die Antragsteller die Klassifizierung als Mediendienst beantragt.

• DE - Es wird Ernst mit den Jugendschutzbestimmungen im Internet (Heise)
  Bald wird ernst gemacht mit dem neuen Jugendschutzbestimmungen im Internet. Das kündigte der Vorsitzende der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM), Wolf-Dieter Ring, Anbietern bei den Münchner Medientagen an. Ring stellte dort eine erste Zwischenbilanz des seit am 2. April des Jahres eingesetzten obersten Gremiums für den medienübergreifenden Jugendschutz vor. Einfache Pornographie deutscher Anbieter dürfte sich am Ende als die kleinste Schwierigkeit für die KJM entpuppen. Die von Schmeichel genannte Problem, dass schwer zu entscheiden ist, was "entwicklungsbeeinträchtigend sein kann", ist deutlich schwerer zu lösen. Laut Staatsvertrag müssen entwicklungsbeeinträchtigende Inhalte durch ein geeignetes Jugendschutzprogramm für Kinder unzugänglich gemacht werden. Nur: Keines der auf dem Markt vorhandenen Filter- oder Jugendschutzprogramme genügt den Anforderungen der KJM. Das Rating- und Filtering-Programm ICRA soll nun wenigstens als Pilotprojekt zugelassen werden.

• DE - Porno-Anbieter protestieren gegen Jugendschutz im Web (Heise)
  Die Anbieter von Porno-Diensten im Netz verschärfen ihr Lobbying gegen kürzlich verabschiedete Auflagen von Jugendschutzbehörden zur Alterskontrolle. Sie fürchten massive Umsatzeinbrüche, falls sich ihre Kunden tatsächlich erst bei der Post oder in Filialen von Telekommunikationsfirmen für den Besuch von Hardcore-Sites oder den Abruf vergleichbarer Angebote anmelden müssen.

Issue no. 288 - 19 October 2003

• Microsoft chatrooms close (BBC)
  MSN's free unmoderated chatrooms are shutting down in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and most of Asia. Chatrooms on MSN's other global sites will either be supervised - or moderated - by an adult 24 hours a day, or will be on a credit card subscription-basis only.

• NZ - Chatroom shutdown 'won't stop paedophiles' (Stuff)
  New Zealand Internet service provider Xtra has shut the door on all its Microsoft MSN chatrooms, bowing to calls to clamp down on "spam" and sex predators. Internet experts are sceptical and say children and paedophiles will simply switch to other free chatrooms.

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