Internet safety - new plans unveiled

[KatieMumsnet]

Hi All

Interesting plans by the 'big 4' isp providers on internet safety announced today here and here. The details are a bit hazy at the moment, but know it's something there've been lots of MN discussions on, so would be good to know your thoughts.

Seven I think it's less rude to point out that expecting other parents to do things exactly the way you do is arrogant, than it is to make the claim parents should just do it your way in the first place. I don't think there's anything childish (or particularly rude) about defending the moral rights of parents to do things differently or to have diverse values.

did you actually read my post?
or just jump, I asked a question
perhaps you didn't notice the use of ?
surely all you needed to do was say why you thought that wasn't possible, without the rudeness and name calling.
sadly it looks like your post answered my questions, but I couldn't get past the name calling.

Your question said "why can't parents actually look after their own dc's" with the implication that parents who didn't "keep an eye on them" we're just not doing their jobs. Yes I definitely jumped at that but not because I didn't read your post. The inclusion of a question mark does not preclude the judging of other parents inherent in your words.

Badgers I would agree it was worse if I thought the people who would use it are people who would otherwise do something else. But I don't. I think the vast majority of them will be families who would otherwise do nothing (which is the current situation). To put it in terms of your car seat anology, if we were back in the 70s when better car seats weren't generally available, then I think a generic car seat offering might well have been a good thing.

People won't subscribe because the products impose limits on access to content, requiring a change in parental behaviour and a willingness and self-sacrifice to deprive themselves of something they value - which takes us back to the cause of the problem, i.e. parents fundamental unwillingness to change their behaviour and properly monitor their kids activities.
If they were willing to do that in the first place then there wouldn't be such an fuss about kids accessing inappropriate content.

"To put it in terms of your car seat anology, if we were back in the 70s when better car seats weren't generally available, then I think a generic car seat offering might well have been a good thing.'

That analogy only works when the generic option is the best option, there is nothing else "generally available". That is not true when it comes to protecting our children on the internet, there are plenty of much better alternatives out there, the problem is awareness and understanding not availability.

So a better comparison is a time when other genuinely effective car seats are available. Is the right thing to do to waste people's money and delude parents with a generic option that is wildly ineffective and wouldn't offer any protection most of the time.

Or, as has happened and continues to happen with car seats, should we educate people so that they are aware that they need to do something and should ask for help about it?

The last time I bought a car seat I had loads of help. There were big displays up in the shop and places to test and demonstrate. I had to have a big long chat with the person in the shop (I genuinely am clueless, but I know that because such a big deal is made about this) and then had the seat taken out to the car to demonstrate it again and to test that it fitted perfectly.

Why can't similar things be done with computer safety?

No one would dream of just filling the back of their car or the boot of an estate with children happily munching spangles as happened when I was growing up. We know that it's dangerous.

People don't seem to understand either the dangers of the internet or the big things that they can do to really protect their family.