Online safety
Friday, 04 Apr 2008 09:12
Guidance designed to keep children safe online
The Home Office has announced new measures designed to make British children "free from fear" online.
They include powers to pass on the email address of registered sex offenders to social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo to prevent paedophiles contacting children.
The sites will be able to monitor usage and block access to specific users if necessary. Police in turn will be able to track paedophiles on line and prevent them from contacting children.
Jacqui Smith also announced plans for a 'kite mark' for protection software and new guidance on keeping children safe online.
The measures have been broadly welcomed by police officers and child abuse experts.
They follow the Byron review, which found 31 per cent of nine to 19 year olds regularly receive sexual emails, instant messages or text messages.
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