Pardon my auto-correcter

As we focus on cyberbullying and cyberharassment, we look for instigators and intervention points. What sets it off? Where can we make the greatest impact along the timeline of cyberbullying/cyberharassment. While most bullying and harassment are intentional, some begin innocently, and the real attack comes from the retaliation. The first one is the missile launched by accident. The second one is the response, thinking the first one was planned. At stopcyberbullying.org we call that "inadvertent cyberbullying" or "accidental cyberbullying." It wasn't done on purpose, but sets off a series of attacks that are. We include messages sent to the wrong person, who might overreact to something that is understood among friends. It includes typos that leave out important words like "not" in "you are ___ fat!" Now, we have to add "auto-correction" as an instigator to harassment/bullying. You didn't do it. Your iPhone did. Or, your Droid did. Or your [fill in the blank] did. We offend by accident. Consider adding a signature to your mobile communications..."Please pardon my auto-correcter, if something doesn't make sense, comes across as offensive or is just plain silly, blame it, not me. :-)"

Talking the Talk - Understanding the Cyberbullying Terms

What we have here is a failure to communicate! (With thanks to Cool Hand Luke.) Unless you understand the terminology you can never solve the problem. You are talking about one thing and students or parents think you are addressing something else. When Parry was asked to be the only female speaker at Microsoft’s first privacy and security event many years ago, she was thrilled and honored. When they assigned her the task of creating the presentation on defining terms, she was crushed. “Defining terms!,” she complained to one of her law partners who was there. “Why? Because I am a lawyer? Because I am a woman?” While she ranted (quietly), her trusted sidekick and law partner, Nancy Savitt, explained. “You can’t solve anything unless you can plot your course. You have to define the problem. To do that you need a common language. Think of people from one country trying to solve a problem with those from another country when each speak a different language and have no common basis of communication. This is no different. You may think of 'privacy' as protecting personal information. I may think of it as defining civil rights about what you can and can’t do in your own home or bedroom. Someone else might think of it as seclusion. Unless we know which 'privacy' we will be addressing, we’re wasting our time.” As with most important matters, Parry listened to Nancy, enough to include the “Talk the Talk” theme here. Here are some of the most important terms you need to understand and use consistently if we are going to work together towards the common goal of stopping cyberbullying. StopCyberbullying Terms: Lots of terms apply to cyberbullying. It will help to come up with common terms we can all use. These are helpful when discussing the issue, so everyone understands what we are talking about. “Accidental Cyberbullies”: another term for “inadvertent cyberbullies,” this type of cyberbully was careless or clueless and hurt the other person by accident. They may have sent the message to the wrong person, left out a “jk” or “” or mis-communicated their message. “Account takeovers”: when someone takes over your account, changing your login/password or account information so you can’t use it or access it. “Click and Runs”: this term describes cyberbullying that takes place when the cyberbully is bored and looking for entertainment. They cyberbully someone for their reaction, which is monitored online and offline. “Cyberbullying or cyber-harassment”: when someone uses technology as a weapon to hurt someone else. When minors are involved, it’s called “cyberbullying.” When adults are involved (18 and over) it’s called “cyber-harassment.” “Cyberbullying-by-proxy or cyber-harassment-by-proxy”: when someone does something to manipulate others into doing their dirty work for them. (“Bullying refers to minors and “harassment” is reserved for the same activities conducted by adults (18 and over).) “Cybering”: the online equivalent of phone sex, but with the communications being typed instead of spoken. If it involves sexual or nude images or videos, it is “sexting” or “sexing”, not cybering. “Cybermobs”: large numbers of people who engage in mob behavior online by hacking, harassing, attacking and spreading nasty messages. They are often the unwitting victims of master manipulation by the abuser, who has orchestrated the situation to do his or her dirty work. They are frequently also self-righteous and believe that they are righting wrongs online. The damage they do can ruin reputations permanently. “Dupes”: for the purposes of cyberbullying, “dupes” are people who have been manipulated into cyberbullying others in a cyberbullying-by-proxy campaign. They engage in harassment or cyberbullying activities after being convinced that they are doing the right thing, giving someone something they deserve or believe that the person they are targeting started it by harassing them first. The person is being manipulated by the real cyberbully into falling for this. It’s a cyberbullying-by-proxy campaign designed to get others to do their dirty work and the “dupes” fall for it. “Extortion” or “coercion”: for the purposes of cyberbullying, extortion often takes the form of an online threat or a threat offline to do something online. It includes when someone threatens to disclose secrets or embarrassing images, puts an unreasonable amount of pressure on you, threatens to do something to you, someone or something you care about or post something online, takeover your accounts or attack you online in order to convince you or force you to do something or not do something. “Flamers” and “flaming”: nasty comments, insults and rude communications posted online for various purposes, including anyone holding opposing opinions or doing things they don’t approve. “Flamers” tend to act alone in their attacks and are highly opinionated, attacking anyone with other opinions or if they find them offensive in any way. “Hacking”: a commonly-used term to cover all non-consensual digital intrusions. For the purposes of cyberbullying, “hacking” involves the use of technology to damage, alter or destroy data, online accounts or digital devices or content of the target. “Inadvertent Cyberbullies”: another term for “accidental cyberbullies”, this type of cyberbully was careless or clueless and hurt the other person by accident. They may have sent the message to the wrong person, left out a “jk” or “” or mis-communicated their message. “Mean Girl Cyberbullies”: Always mean but not always girls, this type of cyberbully attacks reputations and engages in cyberbullying designed to socially exclude or humiliate their target. “Photoshopping”: named for the Photoshop™ software tool that allows photos to be altered or edited, this involves teens manipulating the real photo of someone else to make it appear that they were doing something they hadn’t really done, such as putting their head on someone else’s naked body or replacing the bottle of soda they were holding in a photo with a bottle of alcohol. “Posing”: when someone pretends to be someone else online, either through setting up a new account while pretending to be that person, using an account with a screen name similar to theirs (using a lowercase “L” instead of a “1” in the name), communicating anonymously or taking over someone else’s account for the purposes of hurting that person. “Power Hungry Cyberbullies”: this type of cyberbully is often also an offline bully. They use threats or physical force in real life and threats and fear tactics online. There is a subset of this type of cyberbullying, called “Revenge of the Nerds.” “Privacy Invasions”: for the purposes of cyberbullying, include misuse of someone’s passwords that had been voluntarily provided to the abuser, unauthorized use of passwords and online accounts, digital surveillance, stalking or monitoring (“spying”), unauthorized access of someone’s digital accounts, devices, activities, content and communications, coerced or pressured access to friends, digital communications, photos and videos, private messages, profiles and game accounts, text messages and cell phone call logs, public sharing of private facts, intrusion into someone’s private space or time and “hacking” for data access purposes. “Revenge of the Nerds”: this type of cyberbully is a special online profile of a power hungry cyberbully. They too want to see their victims sweat and use threats and fear tactics. But they are often the victim of power hungry bullies in real life and unable to fulfill their physical threats. They aren’t a “tough guy,” just playing one online. “Set-Up”: when someone poses as someone else and communicates with the target to see what they would do, using it to teach them a lesson or test them. “Sexing”: taking and sending sexual, sexually provocative or nude images to someone via any digital device other than a cell phone (such as a webcam, online or using a photo-sharing (such as Flickr) or video-sharing (such as YouTube) network). “Sexting”: taking and sending sexual, sexually provocative or nude images to someone via cellphone. Typed communications are not “sexting.” They are “cybering.” “Spying” or “digital surveillance”: using technology to monitor someone else’s digital communications, such as spyware or physically reviewing cell phone, text or other digital communications without the permission of the person whose account is being monitored or reviewed. It also includes audio or video surveillance. “Trolls”: are people who like to stir up trouble online and see what happens. A juicy rumor campaign can “feed the trolls,” allowing them to act out and giving them the attention they crave, especially in virtual worlds and interactive games.

why definitions matter...cyberbullying

I get a hundred emails a week telling me that stopcyberbullying.org should explain that cyberbullying happens to adults too. I reply, often, explaining that adult online bullying is called "cyberharassment" not cyberbullying. (and wiredsafety.org handles adult issues) While the actions may be identical, we traditionally use the word "bullying" for minors. We may say that a student who was beaten up on the playground was "bullied." When the same act occurs between adults, we call it "assault and battery." Why does it make a difference? Because youth deserve greater protection from harm, in our society. It's our job, as adults, to help protect them from harm. Adults have access to resources to protect themselves while many youth do not. And young people, as the bullies, often do not face the same consequences of their actions as adults. That means that cyberbullying solutions are different than cyberharassment solutions in most cases. Unless we define the problem carefully, we cannot define the right solution. So, if you say "cyberbullying" while I say "cyberharassment" and we can't communicate. US Supreme Court Justice Stephens said "I know it when I see it." (he was talking about porn, but it works just as well here.) We may know it's wrong. We may know it shouls be taken seriously. We may know it should stop. But unless we also know what to call it so people who can offer help understand what help you need, we can't offer help. Sometimes the simplest of changes, like using the right term to describe an action like cyberbullying, can be the start of something good.

Your "Permanent Record" in a Digital World

When we were growing up, threats to put something on our "permanent record" put fear into our hearts. It meant that we carried our past actions with us as we moved forward through the K-12 system. It meant no "fresh starts" and living with long term consequences of short term actions. Once we moved to college, we could breathe a sigh of relief. The "permanenet records" in life after school were limited to bad references from employers, credit histories and divorces. But that was then. This is now. Our kids can never start fresh. Their permanent records are really permanent. My line "what you post online stays online...forever" is often quoted. Old archival sites aren't the issue. The Facebooks, YouTubes and Twitters of the world are. Your posts are reposted, saved, printed and shared. When you move away, the new school students know what the former school students thought about you. The bullying can move with you. Your old fat pics, embarassing pics, boyfreind/girlfriend and what-were-you-thinking pics move too. Lies, exposed secrets, rumors, profiling, friends, enemies...they transfer too. You can't escape your past. Our kids can never reinvent themselves over the summer. They can never ditch the geeky period and become popular in a new school. You can never pretend that you were born with that "new" nose. We grow up online, with all our warts, lapsed judgment and experimental hair colors. It's like having someone capture a pic of you from the 80s and showing them to your future mother-in-law or even your kids. And it's not only things that others do to them. It's what they do to themselves! When I talk to teens about their online reputations, they cannot fathom the permanence. Brain specialists tell us that teens' brains are not sufficiently matured to appreciate consequences until they are in their early 20s. (I keep reminding my mom that my brain wasn't sufficiently mature when I was in my teens, instead of my doing stupid things. She still hasn't bought it.:-)) They don't comprehend the long term consequences of doing stupid things (whoops, I mean "things that an immature brain may cause you to do"). They sext, post far too much personal information and do things that should never be captured in their permanent record. School administrators tell me that the "permnent record" of our youth is no longer a "permanent record" as we knew it or as we feared it. That's good. But with social media and unlimited data storage and sharing, the new "permanent record" is far more permanent and far-further-reaching. No more fresh starts. No more reinventing our pasts. No more escapaing our mistakes, poor judgments or past romances. No more forgiveness. How sad.

Why is SnapChat a Problem?

Many apps and technology tools take on a life of their own. They are designed for one purpose and used for another. The major influence with digital apps and tools is how teens use it. Teens made MySpace popular in 2005. They made FormSping popular in 2009. (They also dropped them both like hot potatoes, and caused their demise or imminent demise.) SnapChat is one of those tools. Designed to allow app users to share a quick pic that isn't important enough to post on your FB page or instagram to someone. Maybe you're at the Cheescake Factory and wanted to share a pic of the enormous slice of cheesecake with your friend whose on a diet. Maybe you want to snap and share a quick pic of your outfit. Or want an opinion on which handbag to carry, flowers to buy or the price of steak. A picture is worth 1000 words and sometimes conveys the thought better than 1000 characters in a text. The image sent dissolves after 10 seconds, and the tool won't allow you to save it. But, as with MySpace and FormSpring before it, SnapChat was discovered by kids and became the next hot tech tool, featured on the cover of BusinessWeek and in the Wall Street Journal. So far, so good. So what is it in my cross-hairs? Two reasons: Criminals Use It and Law Enforcement Can't: Because it is so easily abused, and the checks and balances that any responsible tech enterprise should build or put in place are lacking. Law enforcement needs the data to be maintained for longer than 10 seconds to track criminals (including child pornographers and child molesters). From the time the complaint is made, they need to serve notice to the network to preserve the evidence and data and then a subpoena demanding the evidence needed to track the criminals. SnapChat does store anything, or at least claim they don't. SnapChat makes every child porngrapher's fav list. They can tease others using child porn images that disappear in 10 seconds. :-( Because They Think It Can't Be Saved, Users Post Images They Wouldn't If They Knew It was Permanent: Young people are sexting (pictures of naked teens and preteens, including them engaged in sexual activities) more often, thinking the image will "self-destruct" like the contract instructions in Mission Impossible. They don't worry about the image making its way into the principal's hands or their parents email box. But what they hadn't considered was that most mobile devices have a screen capture tool, allowing the users to capture it indirectly. What the user thought was temporary, becomes permanent. While sexting isn't SnapChat's fault, promises it makes and lack of education/warning tips are. Young people need to learn that everything is permanent if it's digital. If they address these two major concerns, I will be happy to set my sights on the next digital tool that isn't using its power responsibly.

It's been a busy week - Charlie Sheen's rants about a ten yr old

It's been a crazy and busy week for online abuses. Charlie Sheen used his digital pulpit to attack a prestigious private school in LA-area that his daughter used to attend. Apparently, he claims that a classmate (when they were both 9 years old) bullied his daughter. He was unhappy with how they addressed the problem and withdrew his daughter from the school last year. Now, a year later he tweets that people should deface and attack the school and even names the girl he accuses of bullying his daughter last year. While most parents of bullying targets experience frustration over the handling of bullying and cyberbullying by the school, most do not encourage provokes against the school or retaliation against a ten year old. I just shot an interview for Inside Edition on this case. They asked me if what Charlie Sheen did was itself "cyberbullying." It's not. It's stupid. It's putting students, the school's teachers and administration at risk for physical and digital attacks. It puts the ten year old he accuses of bullying in the cross-hairs of any crazies who actually follow Charlie Sheen. It will hurt his daughter far more than he knows, as well. It's a shame that we put digital weapons like twitter into the hands of adults who act like children and put the lives, safety and emotional well-being of ten year olds at risk. shame on him!

support Congress's move to help our kids become better skilled in math and science!

Bill Summary & Status - 113th Congress (2013 - 2014) - H.RES.77 - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Following in the shoes of Canada's digital living labs, US youth will have the opportunity to compete in an app challenge. this is a great program. support it!

Valentines Day - time for romance, love and disrobing online! Seniors Alert!

I am always interviewed and speak about kids sexting and disrobing online...they engage in cybersex (sexual chat) and pose in provocative ways. We warn them about repercussions. We lecture about risks and consequences. We tell them to keep their hormones in check. But, while sexting among young people is a growing problem, so is sexting among seniors and single and not-so-single adults. I get as many emails from grandparents asking how to delete a sexy pic they shared with someone online as I do from grandparents worried about their grandchildren. While visions of 85 year olds in the buff may not be a turn-on for most of us, they apparently are for other seniors who are lonely, love-starved and still active libidos. They do it for the same reason kids do. To get someone's attention. To show they care. To share how much they care. They may do it while intoxicated or on medication and not thinking clearly. Or they may do it when not thinking at all. But mirroring their younger counterparts, they worry about what will happen if the image "gets out". They worry about family members seeing it, or neighbors, or pastors, rabbis and priests. So, this Valentine's Day, show love in other ways. If you are going to take off your clothes, do it in person and make sure the cameras are off and stay that way.

Finding Love in all the CyberPlaces - why we love to love online

I gave an interview to the Buffalo News last week. It ran today. I was asked about why people engage in online romances. We talked about the typical issues of loneliness, disconnectedness, fear of being hurt....But there are many more of us who do it becasue it saves time. Time we don't have with 24/7 ever-connected jobs. We live in isolation. Work in isolation. Commute in isolation. We at, drink and play in isolation too often as well. Who has time for getting dressed up? High heels hurt and shaving after you get home form a long day at work? Sometimes not worth the trouble. Cyberdating allows us to sit at home, in our bunny slippers with chinese take-out and fit cybersex and cyber-romance between episode of Game of Thrones and Girls. We don't have to straighten our apartments, empty the sink or put out dip. We don't have to worry about STDs, pregnancy or our kids walking in on us. When I do CNN or other news programs, or am shot for TV from my home, I often get dressed for the camera from the waist up. no one sees that I am barefoot or in my favorite sweatpants. The camera sees what you want it to see. Wearing a facial mask or had a bad skin/hair/body day/week/lifetime? No prob. Put an "out of order" notice on your webcam and do a low sexy voice instead... Sometimes, dating isn't worth the effort. And cyberdating allows us to expend as little or as much effort as we want. It's cleaner, faster and easier. Cyberdating is becoming a relationship of convenience. It's not for kids anymore. (Never was, actually.) As we think about love this Valentines Day, let's think about taking it a step further...maybe even dialing the phone! :-)

a snow day - kids reach out for help online

This past Friday most of the NE coast schools were closed for the blizzard. When I was growing up, snow days meant we could go sledding, build snowmen and forts or lay on the sofa reading books with a cup of hot chocolate. This Friday, however, WiredSafety and our StopCyberbullying helpline received four times the normal number of inquiries and calls for help. Why? We're not certain, but think it has to do with the brief break in the school schedule and the time and need to report cyberbullying. It only reminds us that if our kids spent more time building snow forts and throwing snowballs, they might have fewer problems online. Many cyberbullies act out for entertainment. They do it to fill boring time. And targets of cyberbullying will feel better when they are laughing and ducking well-aimed snowballs than sitting in their rooms brooding over online insults. Our studies have shown that online drama is seriously reduced with kids who are athletes. Whether it's the reduced time, energy or focus, or working off excess teen hormones and cortisol, offline sports reduces online angst. So, put on your mittens and UGGs and laugh a little with your kids. It's good for everyone and will keep them safer online. Who knew?

A Golden Opportunity Seized! Thank you Gov Christie

A Golden Opportunity Seized I wrote an Op-Ed for the Star Ledger Monday asking Governor Christie to seize the opportunity to protect all consumers - especially our children- from the risks of unregulated online gambling. I just learned that he conditionally vetoed the bill, but once it is amended to build in better protections of problem gamblers, he indicated that he will sign it. This is wonderful news and speaks to his continued leadership in our state and across the country. Today's conditional veto of online gambling legislation by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is an important step forward in protecting consumers - especially children - online. Governor Christie understands that we have to regulate online gaming, instead of continuing to ignore it. He has expressed concern over online problem gambling, which is commendable. To address this concern, today he charged the New Jersey State Legislature with amending the bill to include increased funding for compulsive gambling treatment programs. He also requested an annual analysis of online gambling's impact on problem gambling. This can act as an early warning system to allow the state to address any issues before they get out of hand. Thank you, Governor Christie, for seizing this golden opportunity to protect New Jersey's families. Good work! Once again, you make me proud to be from New Jersey!

Alex Wonder: New free downloadable game helps kids fight cyberbullying

Alex Wonder: New game helps kids fight cyberbullying
Everything a teacher needs to help students understand how to spot cyberbullying behavior in themselves and others, understand what to do about it once it begins and how to avoid it. It's a free download from stopcyberbullying.org.

Violence in Video Games

Every year we experience a tragedy in real life where the person responsible turns out to be a video gamer, with favorite games such as world of warcraft and gears of war. And immediately following the evidence that the person charged with the violent crime is a gamer, there is an outcry to ban violent video games. I wish it were that simple. I wish that by banning content and certain interactive networks, we could curtail violence. In my generation we all had cap pistols and bows and arrows to play with. Shooting each other on the playground with these toy guns was commonplace. My son's generation included GI Joe and teh shooting continued. War, weapons, shooting and killing were part of play since I was born (and I am sure beyond). We blamed violence in the media. Violent music lyrics. Movies like Psycho, Halloween and Terminator for stirring up violence in our youth. And now, we blame violent games. Tragedies such as Newtown, grieve us all. Lost children, the promises unfulfilled, make us want to lock up our children until they reach the age of fifty to protect them from hate, violence and fear. Gamers include people of all ages, talents, nationalities, ethnic background, shapes, sizes, religions, races and temperments. The games provide an outlet, entertainment and helps develop strategic thinking. Of course, some gamers are violent, just as some may be timid. Some are hateful as others may be kind. Some are very bright and others don't have two brain cells to rub together. It's not the gaming, or the game. It's the violent actor we should be banning, studying and finding ways to disarm. Let's not take the easy and ineffective way out. It's not technology we should be blaming. It's the bad actors.

COPPA 2.0 - Amended Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule

It's been 18 mos since we started reviewing COPPA to see what should be kept, and what should be abandoned. The world of children online has changed dramatically since COPPA was first adopted in October 1998. The FTC gave the industry 1-1/2 years to prepare and it first became effective in April 2000.

Even then, most companies failed to comply.

Over the years, many smaller (and embarassingly larger) industry members have complied by copying another site's privacy policy and claiming in big bold letters that they were compliant with COPPA.
They failed to realize that by doing so, they were making it worse when the stolen privacy policy didn't match their site's practices.

Now, the Internet as we knew it is not a desktop world anymore. Handhelds, mobile devices and technologies use different networks to connect everyone, especially kids. And none of us over the age of 15 know how to do what our kids do and what to do to keep them safe.

Some of us worried that COPPA 2.0 was taking on too much. Some advocates wanted the age raised to 16 (from 12 and under). Others wanted heavy regulations on advertisers marketing to kids, and many wanted nothing to change.

I filed two comments (one for each comment period) and assisted in drafting others for clients and companies I advise. I was worried that the knowledge standard would be changed somehow, bring an "implied" standard to the table in knowing the age of your users. I worried that plug-in providers would have a higher duty to inquire about the user demographics. I worried that in an attempt to keep our children safer and more private, we were turning off the technologies and keaving them in the dark.

I had no need to worry. With few exceptions, the new COPPA Rule tracked my wishlist and comments. It reflects how much the FTC listened to all stakeholders and how carefully they weighed the risks and benefits of a more exacting regime.

I am a fan of the current FTC Chairman. I have been since he was first selected as an FTC Commissioner. But even more, I am a fan of the people at the FTC who work tirelessly to be always available to industry and advocates alike.

We joke about the Call Phyliis and Mamie hotline (referring to Mamie Kresses and Phyllis Marcus, the COPPA mavins at the FTC), referring to their willingness to be there for questions and for ideas.

I wish all federal agencies worked as well, and cared so much.

So, for my clients which are waiting with baited breath for my guidance on COPPA 2.0, I will be in touch tomorrow. And for the rest, it's not so bad and with the right help, not so hard.

Parry


FTC Strengthens Kids’ Privacy, Gives Parents Greater Control Over Their Information By Amending Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule

COPPA Rule Changes - what do they mean for you, your family and your network?

Thirteen years ago one of the most powerful children's privacy laws in the world took effect. It required commercial networks, providers and websites (including game networks) to give parents notice of and get permission before collecting information from their preteens or enabling preteens to communicate and share personal information with others.

The law has been studied and used as a model for many kids privacy regulatory schemes around the world.

Several of us were actively involved in its drafting and clarification. I wrote most of the privacy policies for children's networks, websites and game providers in April 2000 when it became effective. Visit aftab.com for the history of COPPA and my thoughts on what works and what doesn't.

Since then, I have continued to advise the industry leaders in COPPA compliance. We have designed several digital tools and helped set industry best practice standards for kids privacy, safety and security. It's not easy, but worth the effort. And failure to comply has resulted in fines exceeding $1 million for brand names, such as Sony.

At noon the newly revised COPPA Rules will be announced, after 18 months of comments, revisions and unput from the industry, child advocates and parents. We can only guess (although many of us have educated guesses :-)) what changes will be reflected in the new rule.

But whatever the case, the networks, websites, services, digital tool providers, mobile operators and entertainment providers will have to work changes in their current practices to comply with these changes.

As parents, read the privacy policies that so many ignore. It's worth it to understand what providers are doing to protect your child's privacy.

As kids, don't lie about your age to pretend to be 13 or older. It's not worth the risk. There are so many great sites and services for preteens. And, your parents can give permission for you to use sites that allow preteens with parents' consent.

It you are a provider, network or operator to which the new COPPA Rule applies, get experienced counsel who can walk you through the kids privacy landmines.

Visit WiredTrust.com if you need help. Check out the SociallySafe.com kids seal on best practices.

Parry

The News Reports on Instagram's Ownership of Your Photos are Not True

Thank you, and we’re listening - Instagram Blog From time to time, when privacy policies are changed, people misread them and think their fears have come true. Today I heard several news reports claiming that you give up your ownership of your photos posted on Instagram, and they will now being selling them to advertisers. Not true.

I wish lawyers wrote privacy policies more clearly...

do not fear. Your rights are still protected.
Parry

As nation mourns, investigators try to figure out what led to tragedy in Newtown, Conn. | Fox News

As nation mourns, investigators try to figure out what led to tragedy in Newtown, Conn. | Fox News
I have been in the child safety space for 18 years. I track bullycides, offline violence caused by online communications, self-harm and mass-killings of children.

Each time gets harder.

We seek solutions and approaches afterwards. Lots of approaches, lots of activities following a tragedy. But we don't know how effective they are.

How do we measure prevention?
How do we measure the deaths and harm that didn't happen becasue of our empathy-training, community policing efforts and educators trained to spot students who are at risk?

I am often asked if crimes are increasing, or if we are just more aware of them now. I am not sure i can answer that question. I know we have to keep on fighting the good fight and hope that the story we never read about is the crime we prevented.

Otherwise, how can we live with kindergardners being gunned down?

Our prayers and thoughts are with the grieving family and loved ones...
Parry

FTC's Second Kids' App Report Finds Mobile App Privacy Problems for Kids

FTC's Second Kids' App Report Finds Little Progress in Addressing Privacy Concerns Surrounding Mobile Applications for Children
Many mobile app developers are good at coding, but know nothing about legal compliance and even less about kids privacy.

The FTC has ruled that mobile app developers are subject to COPPA (the children's online privacy protection act), which since 2000 has governed what digital developers and networks can collect from preteens or allowed to be shared with others about preteens.

Fines in the space have exceeded $1 million and those fined have included such stellar brands as Sony.

Some parts of the law are tricky, especially when the technology changes every nano second. But the basics are simple.
1. If you knowingly have preteens signing up for your mobile app, the law applies.
2. If your mobile app is directed at young teens or preteens, it applies.
3. The app needs a link to a privacy policy or privacy info embedded into the app (and easily found).
4. The app needs to be up front about what it is collecting from users and from the digital device (GPS, other app usage, social networking accounts, photo sharing accounts, etc.)

then, they need to walk the walk. what they say needs to match what they are doing. Too many developers to save time, effort and legal fees merely copy someone else's privacy policy. But if it doesn't match their privacy practices, they can also be charged with consumer fraud.

My new consulting firm, Wiredtrust.com, offers legal guidance, privacy best practices and the first safety and best practices seal for kids sites, Socially Safe Kids.

NYC taxpayers may have to pay for private school for bullying victim - NYPOST.com

EXCLUSIVE: NYC taxpayers may have to pay for private school for bullying victim - NYPOST.com

Unfortunately, this article was too short to address the real issue here: The Federal Ct Judge looked to the Dear Colleague Letter issued in 2010 by the Secretary of Education in Washington. Until this case, courts looked to standards of safety/security for students on school grounds during the school day for determining the school's liability.

The Dear Colleague Letter was issued following a by-invitation-only DoE/DOJ/DHHS summit of roughly 100 of us (bullying and cyberbullying experts) hosted in DC. The letter clarified the schools' obligations to assert authority when students' civil rights are impacted by bullying in any form.

But whether the Dear Colleague Letter was intended to create a new legal standard or not is not clear.

Given the large number of bullying and cyberbullying incidents in schools and the unfortunate inability of schools to address these adequately, special needs students (if this is upheld on appeal) will by and large be entitled to private school education at the taxpayers' expense. And this standard will make it easier to sue school districts on the new Dear Colleague standards.

An unintended or intended consequence?

I'll ask the Secretary of Education when the next summit is held in August.

But for NY taxpayers, this may be too little/too late.

Parry quoted on handling a teen's text "addiction" Work & Family Mailbox - WSJ.com

Work & Family Mailbox - WSJ.com

When is a hateful comment a hate crime? NJ police investigate possible biased Wi-Fi ID | Deseret News

NJ police investigate possible biased Wi-Fi ID | Deseret NewsSomeone in Bergen County, NJ (a diverse, well-educated and generally affluent county)use a hateful phrase as his WiFi handle. Someone in the community was searching for an open WiFi and stumbled upon this hateful handle. This was brought to law enforcement's attention. Unless someone hacked the "hot spot" changing an existing handle, this would not qualify as a crime.

Miss NY - Kaitlin Monte: An Advocate for Targets of Cyberbullies/

Kaitlin MonteKaitlin is an Honorary Teenangel, and won our hearts long before she won America's as the second runner-up in Miss America. While we are very sorry she wasn't selected as Miss America, we are grateful that she now has a bit more time to help victims of cyberbullying and those who want to stand up against cyberbullying.

What the Kids Want...and What We All Need.

Recently, at schools in Florida and Michigan, young people told me that they wanted to nderstand what constituted cyberbullying, how to prevent it in the first place, how to stop it once it starts, how to help others who are being targeted by a cyberbully and how to avoid crossing the line into cyberbullying themselves.

Good questions. The same ones the industry, congressional representatives, schools, law enforcement and parents have.

Later this month, along with our sponsors and partners, we will be releasing the Stopcyberbullying Toolkit for schools and comunities. It is a free downloadable resource covering everything schools, parents and students need to address cyberbullying for all stakeholders, from K-12.

Watch the stopcyberbullying.org site for registration links.

Cyber-Challenges for Athletic Directors

Substance Abuse - Internet Photos of Athletes Present New Challenges to Ads

Back to school - what should you be thinking about?

Milk forms, pencil cases (do they even have them anymore? :-)), backpacks, laptops, iPads, mobile phones, the "in" clothing, the latest loves, hates and crushes...it's back to school in North America. And parents are thinking about everything they need ot do to get their kids in school, learning and safe.

I will be publishing a series of blogs for parents on what they need to know. Simple themed tips to help you get through this in one piece.

Let's start with an easy one, cell phones:

Most schools have official or unofficial policies about cell phones on campus. Find out what they are. If the school doesn't permit cell phones in classrooms, don't think that a note from you will suffice to change this policy. Nor should it.

Cell phones don't belong in the classroom unless the teacher has a project designed to use them. They are distracting. They facilitate cheating on tests (the students take a pic of the test and text it to someone in the hall for answers). They waste time. They can be used to hurt other students or allow them to hurt your child.

If the school allows cell phones in lockers, support the rule. Remind your child that you control the cell phone and if they violate school policy with it, they lose it.

Show restraint. I know you would like to be able to reach your child whenever you want, fo any and all reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. But they are in school. If it's important, call the school office and ask your child to call you. If it's an emergency, do the same. If it's to send a message, the office works pretty well too.

Treat text like a call. If they are supposed to use the cell phone, it means text as well as calling. Don't encourage them to violate the policies, and don't allow them to violate it on their own.

Get their cell phone insured. They lose it, drop it into puddles and wash their jeans with the cell phone in the pocket. They are stolen, dropped under the bus and tossed like frisbies. It's worth the small insurance charge. It may also be insured already under your homeowners' insurance or with a gold or platinum credit card purchase.

The GPS is more valuable to find a missing phone (where they left it) than to find a missing child. But it can do both, easily.

Limit their ability to spend money with the phone on apps, games and offline items.

Know your plan, with free calling hours, numbers of texts and anything else that can sneak up on you.

Check their photos, videos and downloads often. Sexting is a serious and growing problem and an image of a classmate naked can result in serious sex offender criminal charges.

and finally remember one thing - you are the parent!
if all else fails - tell them to do it becasue you said so! :-)

Heck, it even sometimes worked for our parents. lol

Parry

Parry Aftab on the Today Show talks about cyberstalking of women, when sexual harassment is used as a weapon online.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Parents Rights in Video Game Sales to Minors

The US Supreme Court ruled today in Brown vs Entertainment Merchant Assoc. against the State of California and in favor of parental rights to decide which video games their teens or preteens can purchase. In a well-meaning law, the California legislature attmpted to regulate the sale of violent video games to minors. In a 90+ page decision, the Court voted 7 - 2 to overturn the California law. In other jurisdictions, laws that require the retailers to post ratings prominently, have not been challenged. But the right of parents to decide what content their children can consume and what entertainment they can enjoy is very carefully protected. Unless the content is illegal, parents are given broad discretion.

The Entertainment Merchant Association represented the interest of parents and the entertainment software industry in the appeal. They issued a statement praising the decision. But parents should praise it more. Parents can and should be reviewing ratings on box games they purchase or their children purchase. They should be discussing the ratings and rules with their children and enforcing those rules with spot checks form time to time. (The best rule in parenting is "trust, but verify!")Have a discussion with the parents of their friends and come to a common understanding about which games are okay for them to play and which aren't. (There is power in parental numbers :-))

Violent video games are controversial. Some studies have shown that young people are hurt by playing violent games. Others have shown that they are not. That's why parents should choose for themselves what they want and will allow.

If you own an XBox or other gaming device, parental control give you the ability to set the ratings level and amount of time your children can play games. Nintendo DSi only offers safer games, and also contains built-in parental controls. If in doubt, ask their teachers, other parents and trusted retailers, such as ToysRUs and GameStop.

Using ratings and talking to other parents, teachers and professionals can help parents figure out their own comfortzone. Those decisions should be made by the family, not the government. Luckily, the US Supreme Court agreed.

YouTube - Vint Cerf sends a video message to Parry Aftab

YouTube - Vint Cerf sends a video message to Parry AftabPary has long admired and worked with Vint Cerf in policy and safety, awareness and digital literacy issues. This meant so much to her. (If you don't know, Vint is considered the father fo the Internet.)

Summit, NJ schools ask parents not to post pictures of others' children online

When we look at good manners and what is considered right online, we have always said that asking before posting someone's pic or the pic of any minor not your own is not just good manners, it's safer.
The Summit, NJ public schools have asked parents to not post pics of other people's children they may take while at a school event.
The school administrators stated that they knew they didn't have the legal authority to madate this, but were hoping that parents would understand the merit of this position, and comply.
When I commented on the proposal, I applauded it. It makes sense, isn't about the schools trying to chill free speech of parents or students. It was about them warning parents of the need to ask first.
This promotes the kind of awareness more school districts should be promoting.
Good work!

"I'm going to tell your Mama!"

Today, while shooting a piece on Rep Weiner's cyberantics for Inside Edition, I learned something. Several things, in fact. (All from this amazing man, Kevin Harry, Inside Edition's Managing Editor and philosopher.)
When he mentors young men, he warns them to follow Bill Cosby's advice -never allow a picture to be taken with a drink in your hand or someone else;s hand. No one knows if it is alcohol or a soft drink, but assumes the worse. He says they talk too much! (Don't we all.) Not dangerous things, but too many personal, none of your business things. There is no mystery, nothing left untold. Beware of allowing people who don't need to have a copy of your pic to take it.
But my favorite is "I'm gonna tell your Mama!"
When the boys act out, Kevin gives their moms a heads up, shares access ot their Facebook profiles and calls them out - with the one person they don't want to face with whatever they are doing.
I am building an entire new campaign around his tips, with his help.
Just don't tell my mom! Please!

Bloomberg Signs Anti-Cyberbullying Bill Into Law | www.qgazette.com | Queens Gazette

Bloomberg Signs Anti-Cyberbullying Bill Into Law | www.qgazette.com | Queens GazetteGreat news! Parry and two of her Teenangels testified in support of this law.

Dozens arrested in New York, Australia and the UK in crackdown on child sex abuse » Breaking News | Wire Update News | News Wires -

Dozens arrested in New York, Australia and the UK in crackdown on child sex abuse » Breaking News | Wire Update News | News Wires -NY DA arrests 26 to stop tradining in child pornography. Australia and UK have similar takedowns.

Teacher, 25 Others Arrested for Trading Child Sex Videos: DA - WNYC

Teacher, 25 Others Arrested for Trading Child Sex Videos: DA - WNYC

26 Charged With Using P2P to Swap Child-Sex Videos | Threat Level | Wired.com

26 Charged With Using P2P to Swap Child-Sex Videos | Threat Level | Wired.com

NYC DA: Teacher, 25 others traded child sex videos - WSJ.com

NYC DA: Teacher, 25 others traded child sex videos - WSJ.comManhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, Jr., announced the bust of 26 pedophiles with a combined collection of tens of thousands of children, as young as 1 year. In what Parry Aftab believes is the largest child pornography bust by a local or regional prosecutor anywhere. The DA joined forces with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), leading investigators in child sexual exploitation cases, to use their new technologies to track the defendants. NCMEC will receive copies of the images to try and locate the children in the videos and images.
It's a good day for New Yorkers (unless you are a pedophile).

Combating Cyberbullying | Parade.com

Combating Cyberbullying | Parade.com I addressed a question form a Parade reader about cyberbullying in the June 12th Parade Magazine. A commentator at the Parade website indicated that the solution is easy, "just keep the teens off of Facebook," But it isn't that easy. I wish it were.

1. Many cases of cyberbullying occur when the preteen or teen are attacked online or on digital or mobile devices by other young people who use the networks as a weapon to target the reputation of their victims. The other students who see the nasty posts, embarassing images or fake rumors then help by tormenting the victim offline, in school or at the mall.
2. Some directly cyberbully their victims, sending threats or extorting them.
3. Others get third parties who have no idea they are being manipulated to do their dirty work, as they pose as the victim and do things to get them into trouble or send them thousands of text bombs so their cell phone bills go through the roof and parents do their ditry work.
4. And some spy on their victims, share their secrets or use digital surveillance tools to violate their privacy.

It's a complicated and many-faceted issue, that involves digital and information literacy skills, digital hygiene (passwords that are easy to remember, but hard to guess) and not sharing passwords with others.

It also involves contempt for others in some cases. Students looking for entertainment when they are bored. Students looking for their 15 megabytes of fame or for attention form their peers. It may be over a boy, a girl or a gripe, or being in the wrong network at the wrong time.
But, it is growing at an alarming rate and we all need to tackle it whenever we can.

Two readers wrote me today (I was the expert in the article).

One, a technology educator, thought I was adding one more thing to an already overworked and over-burdened school system. While he may misunderstand the lay of the current law and where the law appears to be going, he is right about schools being over-burdened and how parents need to play a more decisive role. On the legal issue, the suggestion I gave in the article was for school administrators to make a call to the parents. The legal lack of clarity covers suspensions or expulsions, not conversations. That suggestion had actually come from a teacher who said she used this tactic to avoid having the student re-targeted by those other students who accused them of "taatling." Few can object to being called, if the teacher witnesses the attacks.

The other emailer thought I was saying that students who report cyberbullying are "tattletales." That couldn't be further from the truth. I hope that impression was not left with anyone else. When a big topic is covered in a couple quick paragraphs in a popular magazine with a broad general audience it can never do full justice to the subtleties of these kinds of issues. (The writer did an amazing job fitting in as much information in as small a space as she did!) All you can hope for is to let the readers know where to get more information and teach them one or two things to help. The rest is left to another article, websites like StopCyberbullying.org, books, longer articles and TV specials. The purpose of this article was to help one mother understand whether she should call the other parents. I think she now has enough information to be more comfortable about what to do and where to go for more information.

Students who report cyberbullying are brave and when they report the cyberbullying of others, can be heroic. Our new Don't Stand By, Stand Up campaign on Facebook encourages bystanders to report it, not support it. And our "Stop, Block and Tell!" theme at StopCyberbullying.org and WiredSafety.org, instructs young people to "stop" and not answer back, "block" the person or message and "tell" a trusted adult.

The great thing about this article is that people are reading it, looking for answers and are passionate about the issue. People read Parade. Lots of them do (including me!) Hopefully, this article will help parents grappling with the same issues.

And if you need more information, don't worry. It wasn't their first article on cyberbullying, nor, hopefully, their last. And in the meantime, check out our site and the other great resources recommended in the Parade article.

Cyber Bullying Growing More Malicious, Experts Say - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Cyber Bullying Growing More Malicious, Experts Say - High School Notes (usnews.com)Gangs, creeps, radical hate groups - the growing weapon of inner city cyberbullies. I am calling this "drive-by bullying". Expect to see murders, sexual attacks and assaults.

We know white kids cyberbully more than minorities; we don’t know why

We know white kids cyberbully more than minorities; we don’t know whyI read this story with interest. Especially since I have been working more with inner city schools than ever to address this fiction. Years ago this was true. We could all ignore the cybersafety risks in inner city urban and poor schools. Why? Kids were not connected in those homes or even in those schools.
But inner city, urban, ethnic kids use the Internet as often as their more affluent white suburban counterparts, just through their cell phones and gaming devices, not home computers. And we are seeing a trending of physical violence and gang provocation with these kids that will result in murders, not suicides. Don't discount the issue, just understand it.

The dark side of dating websites - thestar.com

The dark side of dating websites - thestar.commany have found love online, but a few have found death. be careful out there!!!

Parry Aftab receives RCMP Missing Children's Award

The RCMP presented Parry and her husband, Canadian child safety advocate, Allan McCullough with its annual RCMP/ Air Canada Child Recovery Award today. Parry accepted her award on behalf of the children in Canada who are safer because of the Facebook/Amber Alert collaboration in Canada. The RCMP formally thanked Facebook Canada for its leadership role.

Sony begins restoring PlayStation Network

Sony begins restoring PlayStation Network - Technology & science - Games - msnbc.com a daunting task. But while Sony restores its networks, what is it doing to educate and help its customers?

New Data Breach Notification Regs Proposed

In response to the data breach by Sony's PlayStation Network (PSN) and Qriosity, the Whote House proposes a comprehensive federal data breach notification scheme that will bring all state breach notification laws into conformity.

Letters to House of Representatives and Senate on the Administration’s cybersecurity proposal (2 pages, 933 kb)

Law Enforcement Provisions Related to Computer Security (8 pages, 152 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (1 page, 93 kb)

Data Breach Notification (11 pages, 172 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (4 pages, 156 kb)

Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Authority and Information Sharing (11 pages, 202 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (7 pages, 240 kb)

Cybersecurity Regulatory Framework for Covered Critical Infrastructure (7 pages, 258 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (5 pages, 230 kb)

Coordination of Federal Information Security Policy (10 pages, 193 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (5 pages, 230 kb)

Personnel Authorities Related to Cybersecurity Positions (4 pages, 89 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (1 page, 72 kb)

Preventing Restrictions on Data Center Locations (1 page, 67 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (1 page, 8 kb)

Complete Cybersecurity Proposal (52 pages, 1.0 mb)
Complete Section by Section Analysis (24 pages, .99 mb)

Cyberbullying Bill Opposed by City's Human Rights Commission - DNAinfo.com

Cyberbullying Bill Opposed by City's Human Rights Commission - DNAinfo.comWiredSafety supports the cyberbullying bill, but recommends defining cyberbullying for the purposes of the bill.

Rutgers Cyberbullying Case: Defendant Molly Wei Cooperates With Prosecutors on Suicide of Tyler Clementi - ABC News

Rutgers Cyberbullying Case: Defendant Molly Wei Cooperates With Prosecutors on Suicide of Tyler Clementi - ABC News

msnbc tv: How to help curb cyber-bullying

msnbc tv: How to help curb cyber-bullyingParry shows off one of her Teenangels to talk about their upcoming June 8th summit in DC and the new stopcyberbullying game, located at stopcyberbullying.org.

Phoebe Prince bullies sentenced, but how do they make things right? - CSMonitor.com

Phoebe Prince bullies sentenced, but how do they make things right? - CSMonitor.comWhen Parry was speaking with Barbara Colorosa after a conference where they were both keynoting, Barbara explained her concept of "restorative justice." That was Monday. Tuesday Parry began building a new program for StopCyberbullying.org to help schools and criminal justice professionals understand how the cyberbullies need to work as hard to "make things right" as they did to ruin their target's reputation and life.

National children’s advocate Parry Aftab of Bergen County honored by FBI - Newark Crime | Examiner.com

National children’s advocate Parry Aftab of Bergen County honored by FBI - Newark Crime | Examiner.com

Two teens in Mass. bullying case plead guilty - US news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com

Two teens in Phoebe Prince bullying case plead guilty - US news - Crime & courts - msnbc.comExpect more pleas. These issues have become even more heated since the charges were brought.

Preteen charged under adult laws in cyberbullying sexual harassment case.

Incident exposes concerns about cyberbullying : The Issaquah Press – News, Sports, Classifieds in Issaquah, WA

'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Cyber Expert Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

Celebrities easy targets online. Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Parry Aftab Cyber Expert Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

WiredSafety - ID theft support for Sony PSN and Qriocity users

WiredSafety: the world's largest Internet safety, help and education resource offers updated ID theft support for Sony Play Station Network and Qriocity users.

What can US schools do to adress cyberbullying that occurs out of school?

Free Speech and Public School Students – A Thumbnail Summary as of April 2011
The US Supreme Court has addressed the free speech rights of students in public schools repeatedly. But, to date, it has not issued a decision on cyberspeech or expression. The lower federal courts and state courts have been grappling with the challenge of applying an offline speech standard to digital speech. The US Supreme Court decisions have established the following basic rules relating to the legal authority of public schools to discipline student speech and expression:
• Student speech that causes, or is reasonably anticipated to cause, a material and substantial disruption of the school environment or interferes with the rights of others may be disciplined or restricted by the public school. (Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 509 (1969).

• In addition to the Tinker “disruption” test and its “interference with the rights of others” test, a public school may also:
o punish lewd, vulgar, or offensive student speech. (Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 479 U.S. 675, 678 (1986).)
o restrict student speech and expression based on “legitimate pedagogical concerns,” when the student speech is school-sponsored (such as a school newspaper) or if it could be reasonably inferred that the speech bears the school’s “imprimatur” (Hazelwood Sch. Dist. V. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 271-273 (1988).)
o discipline and regulate off-campus speech, at a school sponsored event, when the speech or expression can be reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use. (Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007).)

Because of the lack of clear Supreme Court guidance on the off-campus cyberspeech issues, the lower-court decisions have varied considerably and frequently conflict. This is particularly clear with two conflicting decisions (Layshock v. Hermitage Sch. Dist., 593 F.3d 249 (3d Cir. 2010) and J.S. v. Blue Mountain Sch. Dist., 593 F.3d 286 (3d Cir. 2010)) rendered by two panels of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals on the same day in February 2010.
The facts of each case are very similar. In each, the students created the offending profiles off-campus, using non-school equipment, after-hours and offended their principals. The key difference was the type of reputational attack used by the students in each case. In Layshock, the student made overweight-centric attacks against the principal. In J.S. vs Blue Mountain, the student described the principal as a pedophile and sex addict.

In Layshock v. Hermitage, the court found for the student and held that school officials could not suspend a student for creating a derogatory fake Internet profile of his principal. Even though the student had taken the principal’s image from the school website and had accessed the offending profile during school hours from school equipment, the 3rd Circuit panel held that there was insufficient nexus between the off-campus speech and any possible disruption of the school environment. But, in J.S. v. Blue Mountain, a 3rd Circuit panel ruled for the school officials, holding that the nature of the off-campus speech could reasonably cause a significant disruption of the school environment.

Although the only real difference between these two cases is the nature of the attack (overweight barbs vs allegations of pedophilia) , each was decided using the Tinker standard, and weighed the likelihood of substantial disruption. While Blue Mountain found the substantial disruption test was satisfied, the Layshock panel found it was not. They then weighed whether a sufficient nexus existed between the off-campus activities and the school itself and found it lacking.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals followed Tinker, along the lines of Blue Mountain and ruled for the school officials based on what they saw as reasonably foreseeable disruption of the school environment. (Doninger v. Niehoff, 527 F.3d 41 (2d Cir. 2008); Wisnewski v. Bd. of Educ., 494 F.3d 34 (2d Cir. 2007).) And a well-thought-out recent New Jersey District Court decision cited to the 3rd Circuit’s continued adherence to the Tinker standard in student cyberspeech cases.

While the law is still evolving, there are general guidelines that schools can follow. As a general rule, if the speech was created and distributed using school equipment, during school hours and/or on campus, schools may discipline students for inappropriate expression subject to the Tinker standard. The guidelines set out in Tinker are that public schools can punish student speech only when it causes, or is reasonably anticipated to cause, a material and substantial disruption of the school environment or if it interferes with the rights of others.

On the other hand, if the activity occurred using the student’s own computer or mobile device, outside of school hours, not related to a school-sponsored activity, which does not give the appearance of being condoned by the school while at the same time being off campus, schools have very limited authority to regulate or seriously discipline that activity. Such expression is generally constitutionally and statutorily protected from school regulation.

But just because school officials may not be able to regulate the speech, it may still be subject to criminal laws or be actionable under civil law. This is far more likely if the speech is harassing under state law or poses a true threat or involves wiretapping violations or digital intrusions under state or federal law or, under the federal Cyberstalking Act, if it is anonymous and intended to annoy the victim.

John Walsh Show Episode Guide 2002 - How to Keep Online Predators Away from your Child | TVGuide.com

John Walsh Show Episode Guide 2002 - How to Keep Online Predators Away from your Child | TVGuide.com

Parry Aftab News, Parry Aftab Bio and Photos | TVGuide.com

Parry Aftab News, Parry Aftab Bio and Photos | TVGuide.com

sony data breach

Local News Story

Factbox: Sony breach latest in string of cyber attacks | Reuters

Factbox: Sony breach latest in string of cyber attacks | Reuters77 million sony playstation users data breach may compromise credit card data, security info and profile contact info.

FT.com / Retail & Consumer - Data breach hits 70m Sony customers

FT.com / Retail & Consumer - Data breach hits 70m Sony customers70m users lost data in sony playstation hacking breach. with network down, users can't shutdown access to their accounts. data loss includes credit card info, contact info and security hint info on users.

Youth play tackles cyberbullying - Sherwood Park News - Alberta, CA

Canadian Youth play tackles cyberbullying

'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Cyber Expert Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Cyber Expert Parry Aftab Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Cyber Expert Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Death Threats: Parry Aftab, Cyber Expert Weighs In - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV

Teens share self-injury, 'cutting' videos on YouTube - USATODAY.com

Teens share self-injury, 'cutting' videos on YouTube - USATODAY.com

The Expositor - Sparta Tennessee > Archives > Life > Online Safety

The Expositor - Sparta Tennessee > Archives > Life > Online Safety

Teenangels in Franklin driving young motorists to safety - Milford, MA - The Milford Daily News

Teenangels in Franklin driving young motorists to safety - Milford, MA - The Milford Daily Newsgotta love my teenangels. this is their new "curb distracted driving" program!

Cyberbullying: An Interview with Parry Aftab « Educational Technology and Change Journal

Cyberbullying: An Interview with Parry Aftab « Educational Technology and Change Journal

Most kids victims of cyber-bullying | Edmonton | News | Edmonton Sun

Most kids victims of cyber-bullying | Edmonton | News | Edmonton Sun

Parry Aftab at Saffron Conference

Parry Aftab at Saffron Conference in Alberta

Many theories, but no proven solutions on how to stop bullying - NorthJersey.com

Many theories, but no proven solutions on how to stop bullying - NorthJersey.com

Child Pornographers Use Online Social Networks to Foil Investigators - The Washington Post

Child Pornographers Use Online Social Networks to Foil Investigators - The Washington PostTechnology is tricky. While it can provide criminals with new tools, it can also provide law enforcement and advocacy groups with powerful tools to find and report criminals.
While Google shut down this technology several years ago (and is actively involved in the fight against child sexual exploitation), instant picture and video-sharing features exist on hundreds of applications.
That's why it is crucial that law enforcement are trained in the latests apps and digital technology capabilties. That way, when they walk in to slap on the cuffs, they know what to look for and where.
Luckily for those of us on the side of the kids, child molesters and creeps online leave trails of cyberbreadcrumbs, from the embedded GPS code on many cameras, to MAC and device information.

Joy Behar viewers: Take our new survey on what we can do to stop cyberbullying.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Got an opinion on what we can do to stop cyberbullying> Tired of having some kids ruin it for everyone?
Do you enjoy using the Internet and digital technologies for school, work, fun and communication? Sick of seeing smut lists, slut lists and the rest of the garbage some kids are posting and sharing?

You can be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem. You can report it and not support it! You can speak out and provide help and support to others who need it.

Join wiredsafety.org or our teen and preteen cyberbullying prevention program, StopCyberbullying.org. Don't stand bby and watch bad things happen online, stand up to stop it!

Don't Stand By, Stand Up - Take the survey

Don't Stand By, Stand Up (25)Too often we focus on all the teens and preteens who are acting out online. A vast majority are caring and use the digital technologies for fun, education and to change the world. Take this survey and show everyone how we can change things for the better.

Nude cyber-images of some 50 female stars stolen - The Early Show - CBS News

Nude cyber-images of some 50 female stars stolen - The Early Show - CBS NewsParryappears to provide advice to celebs and regular teens alike.

Thinking Outside of the Box - no knee jerk reactions to what .XXX means

http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/xxx_whitepaper.pdf
to review WiredSafety's whitepaper on dot xxx and what it can mean for privacy, child protection and the security of adults.

Dot XXX registry approved after years...

ICM Registry
PRESS RELEASE (US Version).XXX adult entertainment domain name gets the go ahead
- ICANN authorizes ICM Registry’s .XXX as a top level domain name -
- Landmark decision provides progressive new home for adult entertainment online -

Friday, 18th March 2011, San Francisco – The .XXX top level domain name (TLD) was today given final approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The approval grants ICM Registry’s .XXX web suffix with the same rights as .com, .net, .co.uk and other TLDs. The only difference being that as a sponsored TLD, .XXX domain names will only be available to the adult entertainment industry. The contract will require anyone registering a .XXX domain to complete an application process endorsed and overseen by the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR).

The introduction of .XXX provides numerous benefits. For consumers who wish to browse adult entertainment sites, itprovides reassurance they are more protected from the risk of viruses, identity theft, credit card fraud and inadvertent exposure to child abuse images. It will also provide individuals and parents who wish to avoid adult entertainment sites the opportunity to filter out unwanted .XXX material.

The benefits of .XXX for online adult entertainment providers include predictable revenue streams, greater customer retention and the chance to take a proactive and responsible approach to their web presence.

Stuart Lawley, CEO of ICM Registry, the company behind .XXX, said: “ICANN’s decision to give .XXX final approval is a landmark moment for the internet. For the first time there will be a clearly defined web address for adult entertainment, out of the reach of minors and as free as possible from fraud or malicious computer viruses.

“We believe consumers will be more prepared to make purchases on .XXX sites, safe in the knowledge their payments will be secure. Tens of thousands of adult entertainment website owners recognize the business benefits of .XXX and have already applied to pre-reserve over 200,000 .XXX domains.”

.XXX will be regulated by IFFOR, an independent non-profit entity made up of a seven-person Policy Council, including a child protection representative, a privacy and security expert, free-speech advocates and adult entertainment industry leaders. It will be funded primarily by $10 (USD) annually from every .XXX domain registered.

Clyde Beattie, Director, IFFOR, said: “Today’s announcement means IFFOR will be able to contribute programs to make a difference in protecting children online. In addition, we will be able to establish a forum for the online adult entertainment community to communicate and proactively respond to the needs and concerns of the broader internet community.”

ICM Registry will offer current intellectual property owners the opportunity to reserve relevant domain names before going to the open market, enabling them to protect their brand names and intellectual property rights within .XXX.

For more information, please visit: www.icmregistry.com

-Ends-
For further information, please contact Jonathan Schecter at M&C Saatchi PR:

Email: jonathan.schecter@mcsaatchi.com
Tel: + 1 646 202 9613
For out of hours, please call: +1 646 592 3437


About ICM Registry (www.icmregistry.com)
ICM Registry is the company behind .XXX. ICM Registry is a financially stable and completely independent entity with no affiliation, current or historic, with the adult entertainment industry. As a registry operator, ICM Registry will provide management, supporting infrastructure and back-end functionality.

About IFFOR (www.iffor.org)
IFFOR is a non-profit entity that will serve as the policy-making body for the .XXX extension. It is independent from ICM Registry and will have its own board of directors and Policy Council representing all stakeholders, including child safety representatives, members of the free speech community and adult entertainment industry leaders.

IFFOR will be funded primarily by $10 (USD) annually from every .XXX domain registered and will engage in various programs and activities, including:

• Promoting public awareness of technologies, programs, organizations and methods available to protect children online
• Enhancing development and proliferation of systems for labeling and identifying material
• Sponsoring approved child safety and reporting organizations
• Supporting free expression to allow Internet users’ right to choose the online material they desire

wiredsafety and pace collaborate on a mobile safety summit.

THE EXAMINER – PLEASANTVILLE: Darren Hayes – Op-Ed on Safer Use of Mobile Devices | Press Room

Fair Lawn students step up against cyberbullying - NorthJersey.com

Fair Lawn students step up against cyberbullying - NorthJersey.comthese students just started their Teenangels training and attended a mobile safety event hosted by WiredSafety and sponsored by Facebook and Verizon.
They are terrific and insightful teens and preteens. Once trained, they will do local speaking engagements to schools, parents and policymakers.

Teen to take on her alleged online sex harrasser - The Early Show - CBS News

Teen to take on her alleged online sex harrasser - The Early Show - CBS Newsthis is one case where we need to amend federal sexual exploitation laws. One federal law, adopted in 1998, provides that anyone who targets a teen under the age of 16 for sexual solicitation by third parties can be convicted of a felony and serve 5 yrs behind bars. Kelsey was 16, so this law just missed applying to her case. This is not a case of sexting, where she took and shared an image of herself. The teen who targeted her chose a porn actresses image that was roughly her siz and shape and then posted Kelsey's name and cell number next to the image. a 55 yr old man texted her, seeking sexual servvices. That was the onlly way she had learned of this horrible attack. The age needs to be moved to under 18. There is not reason why a great girl, who guards her innocence carefully, should be targeted by someone and he walks away becasue she was 16 and not 15. No reason whatsoever. I hope to speak with Congressional leaders to see what we can do to bring justice to the next teen horribly defamed and exploited in this way.

Children's Social Security Numbers Targeted For Identity Theft

Children's Social Security Numbers Targeted For Identity Theftmore and more often the social security numbers of young people, from the earliest weeks after birth in some cases, are being stolen for identity theft. typically the theft goes undiscovered until the minor turns 18and applies for credit.

we need to address this.

Boy, 14, Arrested for Cyber-Bullying 12-Year-Olds | NBC New York

Boy, 14, Arrested for Cyber-Bullying 12-Year-Olds | NBC New Yorkexpect more arrests with the law enforcement new policy of being safe not sorry.

‘Sextortion’ becomes new form of blackmail | Capitol Hill Blue

‘Sextortion’ becomes new form of blackmail | Capitol Hill Blue

Middle School Students Wow Cybercrime Expert - Fair Lawn, NJ Patch

Middle School Students Wow Cybercrime Expert - Fair Lawn, NJ PatchI have been donating several school presentations recently in NJ as part of a promise I made to Senator Lautenberg and at an event he pulled together on cyberullying last month. The Fairlawn kids were terrific. I have also been at the Rise Academy in Newark, at the Roselle schools, School 18 in Paterson.

14-year old child pornographers? Sexting lawsuits get serious

14-year old child pornographers? Sexting lawsuits get seriousIn a typical sexting case, a young girl took sexual pictures and shared them with a boy she liked. There was coercion, the kind boys have used forever...I won't like you if you don't, I won't be your friend if you don't and the promises of never sharing it with anyone. When the boy broke his promise and shared it with others who then shared it with the world, the girl was devastated. Her parents sued. When we look at sexting, typically, we look at the criminal laws that are making our teens and preteens registered sex offenders fr stupid actions. They can legally have sex with someone, but if anyone records it on video or in a still image, both can be charged with child pornography crimes under federal and most state laws.

The laws were not designed to handle consensual production and sharing of sexual images among minors. Instead, the law recognizes of young people often do not understand consequences and can be easily owerpowered emotionally and convinced or coerced into taking or posing for these sexual images. That's why whether or not the pictures were taken consensually, the minor in the image is not allowed to provide legal consent. But minors are held accountable for breaking the law, even at 13 and 14.

If we separate the sexual exploitation piece from the harassment piece, the negligent or intentional spreading of a private image beyond the terms permitted, is it easier to find culpability? In states having common law privacy rights, the better action may be for public dissemintation of private facts. This is less about coercion and force than it is about betrayal.

And the courts are well-versed in handling lawsuit alleging betrayal and broken promises.

PolitiFact Texas | Whoopi Goldberg says that sexting is a felony in Texas, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison

PolitiFact Texas | Whoopi Goldberg says that sexting is a felony in Texas, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison

The Week in Words: Try to be happy; no free home; thinking twice | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/27/2011

The Week in Words: Try to be happy; no free home; thinking twice | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/27/2011

Teens Share 'Cutting' and Other Self-Harm Videos on YouTube - TIME Healthland

Teens Share 'Cutting' and Other Self-Harm Videos on YouTube - TIME Healthland

Addicted to Gaming | Parry Aftab NBC Connecticut

Addicted to Gaming | NBC Connecticut

The Week in Words: Try to be happy; no free home; thinking twice | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/27/2011

The Week in Words: Parry's quote on Doodle 4 Google privacy glitch | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/27/2011

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - The Denver Post

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - The Denver Post

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - The Denver Post

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - The Denver Post

Child predators turn to gaming, Michigan police say | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Child predators turn to gaming, Michigan police say | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - KansasCity.com

Art contest draws Google into another privacy flap - KansasCity.com

Attorney General Martha Coakley will head to Washington to claim Wired Safety's Internet Super Hero Award | masslive.com

Attorney General Martha Coakley will head to Washington to claim Wired Safety's Internet Super Hero Award | masslive.comThe Teenangels and I admire the work of AG Coakley in cyberlegal matters. This is a very important award presented annually by WiredSafety at the WiredKids Summit in DC.

Facebook page draws police scrutiny for cyberbullying

Facebook page draws police scrutiny for cyberbullyingNotwithstanding the headlines, Facebook has strong anti-bullying policies and reacts to reports of pages that violate their terms of service.

Facebook bullies back; no charges yet | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post

Facebook bullies back; no charges yet | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post

Teens Share 'Cutting' and Other Self-Harm Videos on YouTube - TIME Healthland

Teens Share 'Cutting' and Other Self-Harm Videos on YouTube - TIME Healthland

Teens share self-injury, cutting videos on YouTube - USATODAY.com

Teens share self-injury, cutting videos on YouTube - USATODAY.comwe focus attention on sexual predators and cyberbullying online, but rarely touch on other risks, such as cutting, self-harm and suicide promotion sites. Often passing constitutional scrutiny, we have to rely on the service proviers and terms of service violations to shut them down. WiredSafety will be seeking help form the bigger providers to promote help sites first, when riskier activities are being sought online.

Springfield hosts anti-bullying hearing | WWLP.com

Springfield hosts anti-bullying hearing | WWLP.comParry and her Teenangels testify at cyberbullying hearing before the Mass. AG Coakley.

Cyberbullying: An Interview with Parry Aftab « Educational Technology and Change Journal

Cyberbullying: An Interview with Parry Aftab « Educational Technology and Change Journal

Online ID theft ruins N.J. teen's life, reputation - NorthJersey.com

Online ID theft ruins N.J. teen's life, reputation - NorthJersey.comI have special concerns about schemes like this putting a child's physical safety at risk. Trending in rbam and more economically-deprived communities.

Michelle Obama Sparks Facebook Age-Limit Debate

The Social Gaming Network for Kids | giantHello - giant Games. giant Friends. ginormous Fun.™

The Social Gaming Network for Kids | giantHello - giant Games. giant Friends. ginormous Fun.™ This is a preteen Facebook-like social network. Safer, and designed for preteens.

The First Lady, Facebook and Preteens

Parry Aftab, Executive Director and founder of WiredSafety (the world’s first cybersafety group) and member of Facebook’s International Safety Advisory Board:

My phone has been ringing off the hook with people asking for my opinion about the First Lady’s Today Show interview this morning, when she said her kids were not on Facebook and she was not a fan of young children using Facebook. I suspect that much of the media will miss the boat here. I am not a fan of young children using Facebook either. Neither is Facebook.

I commend the First Lady for understanding that Facebook is not for preteens. It does not permit users under the age of thirteen to register for the site, for the other parents who didn’t take as much time to read and understand Facebook’s terms of service. As the founder and Executive Director of WiredSafety, the oldest cybersafety and help group online, I wish that parents understood that and had the talk with their kids about Facebook and other online properties that are restricted to users 13 and over.

For more than ten years, the US Federal law, The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, has been in place to protect US children’s privacy and safety online. It prohibits commercial websites (without parents’ prior approval) from knowingly permitting preteens from sharing personally identifiable information online, and prohibits them from collecting personally identifiable information from preteens online. Facebook has been in compliance with this law since its inception. And I am happy that the First Lady understands about that law and the importance of parents overseeing their children’s Internet use.

For those of us without the US Secret Service to help protect our kids online, this is an important reminder that preteens are not allowed to use Facebook.

Unfortunately, preteens are rarely happy being just preteens. They want the clothing that their older siblings wear. They try and use makeup before they should. And look for technology and devices that older teens are using. They also sometimes lie about how old they are to get a Facebook profile before they should.

Have the talk! Discuss lying. Talk to them about how their lying about their age means adults have no idea that they are dealing with a preteen. Help them understand that some things are not meant for them yet.

Find other social networks designed for preteens. If more parents took as much care and interest in their children’s Internet use, fewer underage children would lie about their age to try and bypass Facebook’s age restrictions.

When your teen is 13 and wants their first Facebook profile, help them set it up. Make it a special occasion. Use privacy settings and remind them that you will be checking. Make sure you control their “friending”, especially in the beginning. If they are willing to “friend” you, it’s a great way to stay involved in their cyberlives. Bottomline, the more parents, such as the First Lady, care about their kids cyber-activities, the better all children will be.

So, take a tip form the First Lady – young kids should not be on Facebook. They are not old enough. She says so. I say so. And Facebook says so.

Michelle Obama’s Facebook Warning: How Young Is Too Young? - TIME NewsFeed

Michelle Obama’s Facebook Warning: How Young Is Too Young? - TIME NewsFeed Parry Aftab was thrilled to learn that the First Lady understood that Facebook is not for preteens. Its terms of service expressly restrict users to those 13 and over. Parry wishes that more parents understood this and talked to them about lying about their age if they try and set up an account before they are old enough. "If more parents understood that Facebook is for users 13 and older and helped enforce that rule, children would be safer. It wasn't designed for preteen users." Further, if children lie about their age, people they wncounter have no idea they are communicating with a child.
While the US Secret Service does a great job protecting the First Children online and offline, most parents have ot do it themselves. Take a tip from the First Lady. Keep your preteens off Facebook until they are old enough to use it honestly. Then play an active role in their lives, not just on Facebook, but on their cellphones and email, IM and YouTube. Friend them. Learn their passwords. Make sure they are using the new privacy controls and only sharing what they should.
Parenting, online and offline, begins at home - whether your home is the WhiteHouse or that dutch colonial on the corner.

Lautenberg Hosts Anti-Cyber Bullying Forum at MSU - Caldwells, NJ Patch

Lautenberg Hosts Anti-Cyber Bullying Forum at MSU - Caldwells, NJ Patch NJ came out in droves last night, with a standing room only crowd of teachers, students, parents, law enforcement, guidance counselors and other who care deeply about bullying and cyberbullying. It made me proud to see such a turn-out. Thanks to Senator Lautenberg for making this happen and Kevin Jennings for his leadership on this issue.

ECOT: E-school ad touts lack of bullying | The Columbus Dispatch

ECOT: E-school ad touts lack of bullying The Columbus Dispatch no one can claim to be bully-proof. it's not something a school can do, online or offline. It is only something students can do, by saying "n".

Education Week's Digital Directions: Schools Tackle Legal Twists and Turns of Cyberbullying

Education Week's Digital Directions: Schools Tackle Legal Twists and Turns of Cyberbullying as school grapple with the issue of doing enough, but not too much, the laws become crucial.

Education Week's Digital Directions: Students Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying

Education Week's Digital Directions: Students Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying Learn more about the work of Parry's Teenangels and stopcyberbullying programs.

Threats online after teen slain | Calgary & Alberta | News | Calgary Sun

Threats online after teen slain Calgary & Alberta News Calgary Sun

Mobile Innovation and Safety Summit

Mobile Safety Summit - to register, use this site.

Mobile Safety and Innovation Summit Announced

Mobile Safety Summit - Pace University's Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information, Parry Aftab and WiredSafety announce the first international Mobile Innovation, Safet and Best Practices Summit. for more information, email Parry Aftab, parry@aftab.com.

Facebook teams with agencies for AMBER Alert pages - USATODAY.com

Facebook teams with agencies for AMBER Alert pages - USATODAY.com following the successful launch of amber alert on facebook in Canada, the US launched its nationwide program to do the same. great news for children and helps reinforce the importance of facebook in safety and volunteerism.

curb distracted driving

WMTV - NBC15 - Video wisconsin born teen, now a freshman at arizona state university, spearheads wiredsafety's distracted driving program - curb distracted driving. he and other teens from around the US who are wiredsafety's teenangels volunteers deliver presentations, host town meetings and help create awareness about the risks of driving distracted. Zach's next event, together with Franklin, Mass's teenangels and wiredteens, will be held Feb 2nd, at Dean College in Franklin, Mass. Nuance, the world's leading voice technology provider, will be sponsoring this town meeting. The distracted driving safety alliance, the first industry and trade association dedicated to distracted driving issues, has adopted Zach's program as its youth arm.
Zach first presented his research on distracted driving at the 9th wiredkids summit, held at the US Senate in DC, three years ago. recent updates on that research demonstrate that matters have gotten worse since then. His research will be presented at the first International Mobile Innovation, Safety and Best Practices Summit, NY March 16th - 17th. for more info, email Parry at parry@aftab.com

Police launch AMBER Alert page on Facebook - Local - News - The Telegram

Police launch AMBER Alert page on Facebook - Local - News - The Telegram Canada leads the world with the first ever amber alert on facebook, created by Parry's husband, Allan McCullough.

Bread n Molasses - November 2010

Bread n Molasses - November 2010 Parry's husband, child safety advocate, brought amber alert to facebook before anywhere else in the world.

CBC News - Nfld. & Labrador - Facebook Amber Alert page now in N.L.

CBC News - Nfld. & Labrador - Facebook Amber Alert page now in N.L. Amber alert and Facebook a perfect partnership to protect children. When we first brough amber alert (officially) to Facebook in May 2010 following conversations with Facebook for the last year, they jumped at the chance to use the power of Facebook to help make sure that children are safer and that communities join in when a child is missing.

Dr. Phil.com

Dr. Phil.com Parry explains about the different types of cyberbullies on Dr Phil.

Economist Debates: Social networking: Parry Aftab as expert guest

Economist Debates: Social networking: Parry Aftab as Expert Guest

Tech.view: Sex, lies and the internet | The Economist

Tech.view: Sex, lies and the internet | The Economist

You Go, Oprah | BernardGoldberg.com

You Go, Oprah | BernardGoldberg.comRemember Quenn For a Day? (If you are under 55, you won't). Women would receive washing machines and handed an armful of roses and a fake ermin shawl to where while they waved, Queen Elizabeth style, to the audience for doing kind things in their neighborhoods. We need to inspire, empower and highlight kinder, nicer and caring people and their work.

YouTube - Ensuring Student Cyber Safety: Dr. Phil

YouTube - Ensuring Student Cyber Safety: Dr. Phil testifies before Congress

YouTube - Ensuring Student Cyber Safety: Parry Aftab

YouTube - Ensuring Student Cyber Safety: Parry Aftab testifies before Congress on cyberbullying

YouTube - Parry Aftab LHJ's Keeping Kids Safe Online: Internet Intervention

YouTube - LHJs Keeping Kids Safe Online: Internet Intervention with Parry Aftab

YouTube - Parry Aftab: The core values of the Internet

YouTube - Parry Aftab: The core values of the Internet

Predators using gaming - Bing Videos

Predators using gaming - Bing Videos

YouTube - Sheriff Maurer speaks about Parry Aftab

YouTube - Sheriff Maurer speaks about Parry Aftab

Parry Aftab on GMA - Grown Up Mean Girls: Mom Bullies - ABC News

Parry Aftab on GMA - Grown Up Mean Girls: Mom Bullies - ABC News

Opinion: Can Oprah's OWN Network Help Restore Civility?

Opinion: Can Oprah's OWN Network Help Restore Civility?I am on TV all the time. When I arrive at the TodayShow or GMA, the security guards greet me with the same question "What went wrong today, Parry" Matt says he loves to see me, but "hates" to see me, knowing it means kids or adults are being hurt in someway using digital technology. I give warnings, tips about staying our of trouble. I protect. I manage risks. But, as welcome as their needing my expertise is, what I enjoy most is talking about the joys of connecting that technology provides. A place where people can help others in more meangful ways. Where we can find someone or something that delights our heart. Where what we longer want is the thing that delights others. Where Amber Alert on Facebook can help bring missing children home faster and raise awareness about our role in making our world better, kinder and safer.

I need to talk more about that. I wish the news agencies wanted to produce more about that. It might be time for me to call the new Oprah network.