Report suggests online threats to children overblown

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 14 Jan 2009 at 17:14

A new report claims that the threats to children online are being overblown, and that most children at risk are putting themselves in harm's way.

The report, compiled by industry bodies, academics and technology experts suggests the biggest threats to children's safety come from other children, and that their own behaviour could contribute to the trouble they encounter.

"Minors are not equally at risk online," says the report. "Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviours and have difficulties in other parts of their lives."

"The risks minors face online are complex and multifaceted and are in most cases not significantly different than those they face offline, and ... as they get older, minors themselves contribute to some of the problems," the study says.

Released by the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the report suggests that the biggest threats to children's safety online come from other children.

"Youth report sexual solicitation of minors by minors more frequently, but these incidents, too, are understudied, underreported to law enforcement, and not part of most conversations about online safety," the task force says.

Online sexual predators are a concern, but the task force claims many of the studies it reviewed were based on law-enforcement cases that pre-dated social networking sites.

They said bullying and harassment, especially by peers, are the most frequent problem minors face both online and elsewhere.

MySpace, which helped to fund the study, said in a statement it fully supports the key conclusions of the report, noting that "there is no single technological solution to the problem of youth online safety and no single technology that fully addresses any specific risk minors face."

Other companies that helped pay for the study include Facebook, Microsoft, AOL and Linden Lab, creator of the Second Life online community.

Find out how to protect your own children online with our feature.